Content area
Full Text
About the Authors:
William G. Lindsley
* E-mail: [email protected]
Affiliation: Allergy and Clinical Immunology Branch, Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia, United States of America
Francoise M. Blachere
Affiliation: Allergy and Clinical Immunology Branch, Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia, United States of America
Robert E. Thewlis
Affiliation: Allergy and Clinical Immunology Branch, Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia, United States of America
Abhishek Vishnu
Affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, United States of America
Kristina A. Davis
Affiliation: Department of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, United States of America
Gang Cao
Affiliation: Allergy and Clinical Immunology Branch, Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia, United States of America
Jan E. Palmer
Affiliation: Well WVU Student Health, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, United States of America
Karen E. Clark
Affiliation: Well WVU Student Health, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, United States of America
Melanie A. Fisher
Affiliation: Department of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, United States of America
Rashida Khakoo
Affiliation: Department of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, United States of America
Donald H. Beezhold
Affiliation: Allergy and Clinical Immunology Branch, Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia, United States of America
Introduction
Influenza continues to be a major public health concern because of the substantial health burden from seasonal influenza and the potential for a severe pandemic. Although influenza is known to be transmitted by infectious secretions, these secretions can be transferred from person to person in many different ways, and the relative importance of the different pathways is not known. The likelihood of the airborne transmission of influenza virus by infectious aerosols is particularly unclear, with some investigators concluding that airborne transmission is a key route (reviewed in [1], [2], [3]), while others maintain that it rarely, if ever, occurs (reviewed in [4]). The question of airborne transmission is especially important in healthcare facilities, where influenza patients tend to congregate during influenza season, because it directly impacts the infection control and personal...