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COVID-19 pandemic has strikingly demonstrated how important it is to develop fundamental knowledge related to generation, transport and inhalation of pathogen-laden droplets and their subsequent possible fate as airborne particles, or aerosols, in the context of human to human transmission. It is also increasingly clear that airborne transmission is an important contributor to rapid spreading of the disease. In this paper, we discuss the processes of droplet generation by exhalation, their potential transformation into airborne particles by evaporation, transport over long distances by the exhaled puff and by ambient air turbulence, and final inhalation by the receiving host as interconnected multiphase flow processes. A simple model for the time evolution of droplet/aerosol concentration is presented based on a theoretical analysis of the relevant physical processes. The modeling framework along with detailed experiments and simulations can be used to study a wide variety of scenarios involving breathing, talking, coughing and sneezing and in a number of environmental conditions, as humid or dry atmosphere, confined or open environment. Although a number of questions remain open on the physics of evaporation and coupling with persistence of the virus, it is clear that with a more reliable understanding of the underlying flow physics of virus transmission one can set the foundation for an improved methodology in designing case-specific social distancing and infection control guidelines., Comment: 14 figures and 40 pages

Hospital-acquired infections represent significant health and financial burdens to society. Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is a particularly challenging bacteria with the potential to cause severe diarrhea and death. One mode of transmission for C. difficile, as well as other pathogens, which has received little attention is the potential air contamination by pathogen-bearing droplets emanating from toilets. In the fluid dynamics video submitted to the APS DFD Gallery of Fluid Motion 2013, we present flow visualizations via high-speed recordings showing the capture of the product of the fluid fragmentation generated by hospital toilet high-pressure flushes. Important quantities of both large and small droplets are observed. We illustrate how high-pressure flushes and cleaning products currently used in hospital toilets result in aggravating, rather than alleviating, the suspension and recirculation of tenacious airborne pathogen-bearing droplets., Comment: The full results on the fluid dynamics of hospital flush ejecta will be published elsewhere. The Gallery of Fluid Motion is showcase of fluid dynamics videos