Airborne transmission

Infected people generate larger droplets and aerosols which can infect over longer distances

A red poster with illustrations and the text: "AIRBORNE PRECAUTIONS. EVERYONE MUST: Clean their hands, including before entering and when leaving the room. Put on a fit-tested N-95 or higher level respirator before room entry. Remove respirator after exiting the room and closing the door. Door to room must remain closed."
A poster outlining precautions for airborne transmission in healthcare settings. It is intended to be posted outside rooms of patients with an infection that can spread through airborne transmission.[1]
Video explainer on reducing airborne pathogen transmission indoors

Airborne transmission or aerosol transmission is transmission of an infectious disease through small particles suspended in the air.[2] Infectious diseases capable of airborne transmission include many of considerable importance both in human and veterinary medicine. The relevant infectious agent may be viruses, bacteria, or fungi, and they may be spread through breathing, talking, coughing, sneezing, raising of dust, spraying of liquids, flushing toilets, or any activities which generate aerosol particles or droplets.

  1. ^ "Transmission-Based Precautions". U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  2. ^ Siegel JD, Rhinehart E, Jackson M, Chiarello L, Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee. "2007 Guideline for Isolation Precautions: Preventing Transmission of Infectious Agents in Healthcare Settings" (PDF). CDC. p. 19. Retrieved 7 February 2019. Airborne transmission occurs by dissemination of either airborne droplet nuclei or small particles in the respirable size range containing infectious agents that remain infective over time and distance