Estimation of exposure levels of virus - Laden expiratory aerosals in a hospital ward under imperfect mixing condition

G. N. Sze To, M. P. Wan, F. Wei, C. Y.H. Chao, S. C.T. Yu, J. K.C. Kwan

Research output: Chapter in book / Conference proceedingConference article published in proceeding or bookAcademic researchpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

This study investigated the feasibility of using the spatial distribution of expiratory aerosols and the percentage viability of airborne viruses to estimate the spatial exposure levels of airborne viruses in rooms under imperfectly mixed condition. Experiments were conducted in a hospital ward with ceiling-mixing type ventilation system. A broth solution with a known concentration of bacteriophages, as to simulate airborne viruses, was aerosolized with a droplet size distribution similar to human expiratories. Spatial distributions of these aerosols were measured using an aerosol spectrometer. The percentage viability of bacteriophages was obtained using in-situ biological air sampling by an Andersen sampler. The applicability of the proposed method was verified by comparing the estimated exposure levels with those measured directly by in-situ biological air sampling at selected locations. Reasonable agreement was found between the two sets of results. The proposed method was then used to estimate the exposure levels of patients and hospital workers in the ward. Estimated exposure levels were found to have significant spatial variations. The proposed method may be further developed into applications for analyzing airborne infection risk in imperfectly mixed indoor environments and the results would provide information for establishing working standards in hospitals for virus induced airborne disease prevention.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationIAQVEC 2007 Proceedings - 6th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality, Ventilation and Energy Conservation in Buildings
Subtitle of host publicationSustainable Built Environment
Pages321-328
Number of pages8
Publication statusPublished - 2007
Event6th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality, Ventilation and Energy Conservation in Buildings: Sustainable Built Environment, IAQVEC 2007 - Sendai, Japan
Duration: 28 Oct 200731 Oct 2007

Publication series

NameIAQVEC 2007 Proceedings - 6th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality, Ventilation and Energy Conservation in Buildings: Sustainable Built Environment
Volume2

Conference

Conference6th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality, Ventilation and Energy Conservation in Buildings: Sustainable Built Environment, IAQVEC 2007
Country/TerritoryJapan
CitySendai
Period28/10/0731/10/07

Keywords

  • Bacteriophage
  • Ceiling-mixing ventilation
  • Exposure
  • Hospital ward
  • Virus-laden expiratory aerosol

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Energy Engineering and Power Technology
  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

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