German and Indian researchers: The spread of "Corona" is affected by air humidity
A team of German and Indian researchers from the German city of Leipzig and New Delhi concluded that the spread of the Corona virus is affected by the humidity of the air.
Ait Ahlawat, from the (Tropos) Institute for Stratigraphy Research in the city of Leipzig, eastern Germany, said today, "If the relative humidity of the room's air is less than 40%, then the particles emitted from the infected people absorb less water, which keeps it lighter and makes it able to fly a distance." Farther into the room and more likely to be inhaled by healthy people. "
This comes against the background of what is known as aerosols, which are a mixture of fine particles in the air, which is considered one of the important methods of transmission of the Corona virus, along with infection by contact with contaminated surfaces (smear infection).
The research team, consisting of physicists at the Institute (Tropos) and the National Physical Laboratory in New Delhi (CSIR), analyzed ten international studies conducted between 2007 and 2020 on the effect of humidity on the survival, spread and infection of influenza pathogens and various viruses of Corona. The results are reported in the journal Aerosol and Air Quality Research.
In their results, the researchers advised controlling the air in the room, in addition to the usual measures of spacing and wearing a muzzle, noting that it is possible for a humidity of between 40 to 60% to reduce the spread of the virus and its absorption through the nasal mucosa.
"For this reason, air humidity of at least 40 percent in public buildings and transportation will not only reduce the effects of Covid-19, but it will also reduce the effects of other viral diseases such as seasonal influenza," said Sumit Kumar Mishra of the CSIR Laboratory in New Delhi. For example".