Inter-zonal migration of airborne infectious particles in isolation wards by human movement

Abstract

Experiments were conducted in the isolation facilities of an infectious diseases hospital to study the inter-zonal migration of airborne infectious particles by human movement. To generate simulated airborne infectious particles, artificial saliva solution with benign E. coli bacteria was aerosolized. Rod-shape Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacterium was used in this study to represent the rod-shape Tuberculosis (TB) bacillus, which is an airborne transmissible pathogen. The solution was aerosolized in the cubicle, anteroom or corridor under door closed, opening and human movement scenarios. In each scenario, E. coli-laden aerosols in air were collected at the adjacent zones. The portion of airborne infectious particles transported from the cubicle to the anteroom then to the corridor during human movement was found to be relatively small, but was still measurable.