New Australian Study Shows How Viruses Can Be Transmitted Over Great Distances

We are often taught that we can catch an illness such as the flu or a cold by being an arm's distance away from someone with the illness, but a new study conducted by the Queensland University of Technology in Australian reveals that airborne germs and viruses can actually spread far and wide.

Airborne transmission of an illness occurs when bacteria or viruses travel on dust particles or on respiratory droplets that become aerosolized when people cough, sneeze, exhale, or even laugh. Hanging in the air much like invisible smoke, airborne viruses can actually travel on air currents over considerable distances, and it is not necessary to have direct contact with someone who is infected to become ill. In addition, the amount of exposure necessary varies from disease to disease, and with illnesses such as chickenpox, a child can even catch it from across a classroom or even from another aisle in a supermarket.

Professor Linda Morawska, director of QUT's International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, states that her new study actually dispels the myth that viruses can only be transmitted from close distances, and her team of scientists has been studying the way airborne droplets carrying viruses are dispersed in the air. As part of their study, the QUT scientists built a machine that measured the distances a droplet travels in the air prior to drying, and Professor Morawska stated the following: "The significant part of our research has found that rather than the droplet falling directly to the ground after leaving the mouth, the liquid component of the droplet dries in the air and the dry residue travels long distances."

This study was actually motivated by the SARS outbreak in Hong Kong in which over 300 people were infected within a few hours, and Professor Morawska also noted, "We wanted to know how this virus was able to travel from building to building in such a short time." In fact, Professor Morawska's team concluded that just one person infected with a disease could very easily spread the disease by simply breathing.

In other words, the QUT team found that airborne viruses were able to travel long distances, and that one of the best ways to avoid airborne infections was to be in a different room for an ill person, with a closed door in between. While covering the mouth or nose when sneezing or coughing decreases the spreading of droplets, this does not eradicate the problem.

For those with children or family members with weak immune systems, eliminating airborne viruses is imperative. With that in mind, one of the most effective methods of removing airborne biological contaminants is through the use of intense UV light.

Essentially, UV light is part of the light spectrum and helps deactivate the DNA of viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. This destroys their ability to multiply and cause disease, and UV light specifically causes damage to the nucleic acid of microorganisms by forming covalent bonds between adjacent bases in the DNA. The formation of these bonds prevents DNA from replicating, and the in turn, the organism is unable to reproduce. In fact, several government-funded studies have repeatedly shown how UV light can effectively sterilize bacteria and viruses:
- The U.S. Government states that UV light should be used in air handling units in government buildings to improve indoor air quality and to control airborne microbial growth.

- The CDC recommends the simultaneous use of UV light with HEPA filtration to eliminate the transmission of airborne illnesses and diseases.

- The CDC also recommends UV light to be used in homeless shelters to prevent the spread of diseases, particularly tuberculosis.

With that in mind, many air purifier manufacturers are now including UV germicidal lamps in their air purification systems, and one such company is AllerAir. Their revolutionary AllerAir 4000 Exec UV air purifier ($639.98) includes four separate filters, including a True HEPA filter for particulates and a powerful UV germicidal light to eliminate airborne microorganisms. This 10-watt UV lamp successfully destroys illness-causing bacteria, and AllerAir air purifiers are currently widely used in hospitals, daycares, food preparation areas, and any other environment in which microbiological contaminants run rampant.