WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Researchers from the University of Maryland explored how the flu spreads. To study this, they placed college students who already had the flu in a hotel room with healthy, middle-aged adult volunteers.
The study, published in PLOS Pathogens, is the first controlled clinical trial to closely study how the flu spreads through the air from people who were naturally infected, not deliberately infected in a lab, to people who were healthy.
At the end of the study, even though the infected students had high levels of the flu virus in their noses, they did not cough very often. Because of this, only small amounts of the virus were released into the air.
'Being up close, face-to-face with other people indoors where the air isn't moving much seems to be the most risky thing -- and it's something we all tend to do a lot. Our results suggest that portable air purifiers that stir up the air as well as clean it could be a big help. But if you are really close and someone is coughing, the best way to stay safe is to wear a mask, especially the N95,' explained Dr. Donald Milton.
The researchers also noted that middle-aged adults are generally less likely to catch the flu than younger people, which may explain why none of the volunteers became ill.
'Our data suggests key things that increase the likelihood of flu transmission -- coughing is a major one,' said Dr. Jianyu Lai, post-doctoral research scientist.
'The other important factor is ventilation and air movement. The air in our study room was continually mixed rapidly by a heater and dehumidifier and so the small amounts of virus in the air were diluted.'
The researchers are working on studies to better understand how much the flu spreads through the air and exactly how this type of transmission occurs.
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