Camera Shows How Coronavirus Might Spread In Microdroplets While You Talk
Image via moonnoor / Shutterstock.com
An experiment carried out by researchers in Japan shows how microdroplets might “contribute” to the spread of COVID-19.
With the use of “high-sensitivity” cameras, as well as laser beams, the scientists managed to capture how these microdroplets—which are 1/10,000 of a millimeter—travel in the air.
The droplets are invisible to the naked eye, but you can actually see all of them in the video below, a collaboration between Japan’s NHK broadcasting organization and the Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases.
While it is still unclear how coronavirus can be transmitted through droplets in the air, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine explains that transmission through the air might be “plausible.”
However, it is good to note that this video only focuses on how many droplets people can emit aurally, and how long they can last in the air.
According to the video, these microdroplets can even be released even when two people are just having a conversation, on top of coughing and sneezing.
This, however, doesn’t “confirm” how the coronavirus is transmitted. It is still unclear how much of the virus one needs to be exposed to in order for them to contract it.
Dylan Morris, co-author of the New England Journal of Medicine study, told Live Science that scientists are still exploring “how high a concentration of viable SARS-CoV-2 is needed to infect a human being.”
It is still important for the public to practice social distancing, as based on recent news, the virus can be capable of being transmitted through the air, like how it affected a choir group in Washington.
Important as a scientist to update and correct when there is new evidence. When our stability paper came out, I said that we didn't have clear evidence of principally aerosol-driven transmission in an everyday settings. We now do have such evidence https://t.co/jE4LuT46O5
— Dylan Morris (@dylanhmorris) April 1, 2020
[via PetaPixel, opening image via Facebook]
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