Coronavirus: more than 200 scientists accuse WHO of ignoring aerosol transmission risk
- Experts contend that aerosol particles play a significant role in spread of contagion
- WHO officials say such transmission usually occurs during medical procedures
The World Health Organisation and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention maintain that you have to worry about only two types of transmission: inhaling respiratory droplets from an infected person in your immediate vicinity or – less common – touching a contaminated surface and then your eyes, nose or mouth.
But other experts contend that the guidance ignores growing evidence that a third pathway also plays a significant role in contagion.
“We are 100 per cent sure about this,” said Lidia Morawska, a professor of atmospheric sciences and environmental engineering at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia.
She makes the case in an open letter to the WHO accusing the United Nations agency of failing to issue appropriate warnings about the risk. A total of 239 researchers from 32 countries signed the letter, which is set to be published this week in a scientific journal.