Observations on pathogenic organisms in the airborne state.

Abstract

Increasing numbers of human and animal diseases have been shown to be disseminated by micro-organisms in aerial suspension. The viability of such airborne organisms declines progressively as the result of physical and other factors which are summarized in the text. Relative humidity strongly influenced viability in experimental studies, but strain differences also appear to play an important role in certain diseases. Laboratory results were confirmed by observations made in the field on poliomyelitis, smallpox, foot and mouth disease, rinderpest and Newcastle disease; it is probable that Marek's disease, avian infectious bronchitis and numerous other maladies spread in the same manner. Long range dissemination by airstreams may be influenced, to some extent, by the virulence of the causal agent and by the fall-out rate for particles of a size which is optimal for deposition at the predilection site of the specific organism. Furthermore, local geographical and climatic factors may greatly modify distributional patterns of airborne disease during major epidemics or epizootics: specific outbreaks are cited as examples.