Coronavirus: US study reveals risks of virus transmission in playing wind instruments
- Study conducted by the University of Minnesota and published in the Journal of Aerosol Science says findings could provide ‘valuable insights’
- The playing of trumpet, oboe and bass trombone is considered a ‘high-risk’ activity, while most other wind instruments pose ‘intermediate’ risk
Those playing trumpets and oboes are more likely to spread airborne diseases, while the risk in playing a bass clarinet, involved in a recent Covid-19 infection that resulted in the quarantine of more than 90 members of Hong Kong’s top orchestra, is slightly lower, according to a US study.
The infection of a musician in the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra came as a study conducted by the University of Minnesota assessed the transmission risks of airborne diseases associated with various wind instruments.
Researchers involved in the study, published last month in the Journal of Aerosol Science, said the findings could provide “valuable insights into the risk assessment of airborne disease transmission and the corresponding mitigation strategies for different musical activities involving the usage of wind instruments”.
The study, involving 15 musicians from the Minnesota Orchestra, measured the concentration of aerosols – tiny air particles that can contain viruses that cause airborne diseases such as Covid-19 – at the outlets of 10 orchestra instruments.
They included woodwind instruments such as flute, bass clarinet, oboe and bassoon; and brass ones such as tuba, French horn and trumpet.