Researchers find coronavirus can also spread through air

Hyderabad, May 6, 2022 :

A recent research study conducted in collaboration with Hyderabad based CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (IMT) at Chandigarh has revealed that the dreaded SARS-CoV-2, Covid-19 disease can also spread through air.

In fact, earlier, it was thought that the Covid disease can spread through touching the infected surfaces. However, the new study led by the researchers has revealed that the SARs-Cov-2 virus is also spreading airborne.

The scientists from CCMB and IMT conducted a study at various hospitals in Hyderabad and Mohali and confirmed that the disease can also be transmitted from one infected person to other people through airborne.

According to Rakesh Mishra, lead scientist and former director of CCMB, as part of their study, they conducted a study if the SARS-CoV-2 disease can also spread through air and to their surprise it was confirmed that airborne transmission of the Covid disease was possible in both Intensive Care Units (ICU) and non ICU wings suggesting that patients shed the virus in air, irrespective of the severity of infection.  

To ascertain the airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the scientists analysed the corona virus genome content from air samples collected from different areas occupied by Covid patients including hospitals, closed rooms in which only Covid patients spent a short period of time and houses of home quarantine patients.

Another scientist Shivaranjani Moharir said that their study had revealed that the coronaviurs can also become airborne and get transmitted from one person to the other. The scientists observed that the virus could be frequently detected in air around Covid infected patients and the positivity rate increased with the number of patients present on the hospital premises.

It is also revealed that the viable corona virus in air that could infect livig cells and these viruses could spread over a long range of distance; hence scientists still suggest wearing face masks to avoid the spread of corona virus. “Our study has shown that in the absence of ventilation, the corona virus can stay in the air for some time. The study has also accounted the positivity rate of finding the virus in air was about 75 per cent when more than one patient is present in a room,” revealed Rakesh Mishra.

With this new findings the scientists suggested that new air surveillance techniques and more steps can be taken to optimize and monitor not just corona virus, but can also detect other air borne infections. Pharmabiz