(ORDO NEWS) — As cases of coronavirus have increased again around the world, scientists conducted a new study that showed that people who are diagnosed with alpha, delta, and omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2 release more virus into the air than those who who are infected with other variants.
The study looked at how much virus a Covid-positive person breathes out.
The researchers studied the inhalation of air, which is recognized as the main mode of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 at different stages of the pandemic.
They are based on the fact that natural selection favors variants with a higher rate of release of virus-laden air.
The study also showed that people who contract Covid-19 after double vaccination also exhale the virus.
The study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, is published on the medRxiv preprint server.
The experts concluded that virus shedding (measured as RNA copies) in exhaled air was significantly greater with alpha, delta and omicron infection than with ancestral strains and non-transmissible variants.
A team of researchers from the Institute for Applied Environmental Health at the University of Maryland School of Public Health analyzed 93 people between mid-2020 and early 2022 who were infected with Covid-19. All had different variants of the virus, including Alpha, Delta and Omicron.
The participants were placed facing the apparatus in the form of a cone. They had to scream at him, cough and sneeze for 30 minutes. The machine collected the particles that they exhaled during the experiment.
The device, called Gesundheit-II, separates airborne droplets as small as 5 micrometers, which can linger in the air and seep through clothing or surgical masks.
The analysis showed that people infected with the Alpha, Delta and Omicron variants had a higher viral load on exhalation compared to those infected with the other variants.
The researchers said the findings provide new evidence that inhalation of infectious aerosols is the dominant mode of transmission.
Study co-author Kristen Coleman told Nature that the study shows the need to invest in improving indoor air quality through better ventilation and filtration systems.
They added that monitoring the air containing new variants of SARS-CoV-2 and new pathogens will be an important component in assessing future threats and will help determine measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
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