Indoor environments that reduce airborne transmission of infections

During the covid-19 pandemic, research on airborne transmission of viral respiratory diseases has advanced rapidly.

It has become clear that indoor environments contributed to the majority of the spread and that viral aerosols have been an important route for transmission.

But one thing where an explanation still is missing is the reason for a strong seasonal pattern with high transmission rates in winters and low during summers. There may be many contributing factors.

However, for the one often referred to as the causative factor – the low relative humidity in indoor air during winter – there is yet no mechanistic explanation.

This is something we need to understand if we are to design and construct buildings and indoor environments that reduce the spread of infections.The human respiratory system constantly adapt to the temperature and humidity of the air we breathe by adding heat and moisture.

It is likely that the amount and composition of the aerosol particles that we exhale from our respiratory system also change with the surrounding climate, but to what extent is so far not known.The aim of this project is to study how different climates affect the aerosol emissions from human respiratory tracts and how it affects the inactivation of airborne viruses.

The project will bridge the gap between real-life exhaled aerosols and laboratory studies on airborne viruses and relate them to climate factors in indoor environments that may impede airborne transmission of disease.