Indoor Model Simulation for COVID-19 Transport and Exposure

Tareq Hussein, Jakob Löndahl, Sara Thuresson, Malin Alsved, Afnan Al-Hunaiti, Kalle Saksela, Hazem Aqel, Heikki Junninen, Alexander Mahura and Markku Kulmala
Additional contact information
Tareq Hussein: Department of Physics, The University of Jordan, Amman 11942, Jordan
Jakob Löndahl: Department of Design Sciences, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden
Sara Thuresson: Department of Design Sciences, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden
Malin Alsved: Department of Design Sciences, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden
Afnan Al-Hunaiti: Department of Chemistry, School of Science, University of Jordan, Amman 11942, Jordan
Kalle Saksela: Department of Virology, Helsinki University Hospital, University of Helsinki, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
Hazem Aqel: Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Collage of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah 21423, Saudi Arabia
Heikki Junninen: Institute of Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Tartu, 51005 Tartu, Estonia
Alexander Mahura: Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR/Physics), University of Helsinki, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
Markku Kulmala: Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR/Physics), University of Helsinki, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 6, 1-16

Abstract: Transmission of respiratory viruses is a complex process involving emission, deposition in the airways, and infection. Inhalation is often the most relevant transmission mode in indoor environments. For severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the risk of inhalation transmission is not yet fully understood. Here, we used an indoor aerosol model combined with a regional inhaled deposited dose model to examine the indoor transport of aerosols from an infected person with novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to a susceptible person and assess the potential inhaled dose rate of particles. Two scenarios with different ventilation rates were compared, as well as adult female versus male recipients. Assuming a source strength of 10 viruses/s, in a tightly closed room with poor ventilation (0.5 h ?1 ), the respiratory tract deposited dose rate was 140–350 and 100–260 inhaled viruses/hour for males and females; respectively. With ventilation at 3 h ?1 the dose rate was only 30–90 viruses/hour. Correcting for the half-life of SARS-CoV-2 in air, these numbers are reduced by a factor of 1.2–2.2 for poorly ventilated rooms and 1.1–1.4 for well-ventilated rooms. Combined with future determinations of virus emission rates, the size distribution of aerosols containing the virus, and the infectious dose, these results could play an important role in understanding the full picture of potential inhalation transmission in indoor environments.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; expiratory droplet; inhaled dose; indoor aerosol modeling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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