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Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 during air travel: a descriptive and modelling study.

Authors :
Zhang J
Qin F
Qin X
Li J
Tian S
Lou J
Kang X
Lian H
Niu S
Zhang W
Chen Y
Source :
Annals of medicine [Ann Med] 2021 Dec; Vol. 53 (1), pp. 1569-1575.
Publication Year :
2021

Abstract

Objectives: To explore the potential of SARS-CoV-2 spread during air travel and the risk of in-flight transmission.<br />Methods: We enrolled all passengers and crew suspected of being infected with SARS-CoV-2, who bounded for Beijing on international flights. We specified the characteristics of all confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection and utilised Wells-Riley equation to estimate the infectivity of COVID-19 during air travel.<br />Results: We screened 4492 passengers and crew with suspected COVID-19 infection, verified 161 confirmed cases (mean age 28.6 years), and traced two confirmed cases who may have been infected in the aircraft. The estimated infectivity was 375 quanta/h (range 274-476), while the effective infectivity was only 4 quanta/h (range 2-5). The risk of per-person infection during a 13 h air travel in economy class was 0.56‰ (95% CI 0.41‰-0.72‰).<br />Conclusion: We found that the universal use of face masks on the flight, together with the plane's ventilation system, significantly decreased the infectivity of COVID-19.KEY MESSAGESThe COVID-19 pandemic is changing the lifestyle in the world, especially air travel which has the potential to spread SARS-CoV-2.The universal use of face masks on the flight, together with the plane's ventilation system, significantly decreased the infectivity of COVID-19 on an aircraft.Our findings suggest that the risk of infection in aircraft was negligible.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1365-2060
Volume :
53
Issue :
1
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Annals of medicine
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
34463165
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1080/07853890.2021.1973084