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Articles on Airborne virus

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Flooding from hurricanes like Irma in Florida can overwhelm sewer systems and spread pathogens in other ways. Brian Blanco/Getty Images

58% of human infectious diseases can be worsened by climate change – we scoured 77,000 studies to map the pathways

It’s not just mosquitos. Flooding, extreme heat and other climate-related hazards are bringing people into contact with pathogens more often, and affecting people’s ability to fight off disease.
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We studied how to reduce airborne COVID spread in hospitals. Here’s what we learnt

We found two small air cleaners in a single hospital room could clear 99% of potentially infectious COVID aerosols within 5.5 minutes.
Toronto Public Health’s tool kit for COVID-19 prevention in congregate living settings contains few references to ventilation, air filtration and other measures to prevent airborne transmission. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston 

How safe are Ontario’s shelters and other shared living settings from airborne COVID-19?

Because COVID-19 is airborne, we can’t know if the shelter system is as safe as it should be without seeing metrics related to ventilation, filtration and occupancy.
Researchers are working on handheld devices that can signal the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the air. fotograzia/Moment via Getty Images

The COVID-19 virus can spread through the air – here’s what it’ll take to detect the airborne particles

Miniaturized laboratory equipment is making it easier to identify airborne pathogens in the field, but there’s still work ahead to be able to instantly determine if a room is safe or contaminated.
Coughing, sneezing, talking and even just breathing can produce airborne particles that can spread SARS-CoV-2. Stanislaw Pytel/Digital Vision via Getty Images

People are getting sick from coronavirus spreading through the air – and that’s a big challenge for reopening

SARS-CoV-2 can be spread through the air. But just how much of a factor that is has been hard to determine. Recent evidence suggests it is common, posing problems as public places begin to reopen.
Ebola is not spread through small airborne particles or larger droplets from coughing or sneezing. placbo/Flickr

Should we be worried about Ebola becoming airborne?

Suggestions the Ebola virus could “mutate” into a form that is transmissible by the respiratory route are speculative, and the likelihood of it happening are low. Nonetheless, the idea appears to have…

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