Exhaled Breath Aerosol Shedding of Highly Transmissible Versus Prior Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Variants.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Aerosol inhalation is recognized as the dominant mode of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission. Three highly transmissible lineages evolved during the pandemic. One hypothesis to explain increased transmissibility is that natural selection favors variants with higher rates of viral aerosol shedding. However, the extent of aerosol shedding of successive SARS-CoV-2 variants is unknown. We aimed to measure the infectivity and rate of SARS-CoV-2 shedding into exhaled breath aerosol (EBA) by individuals during the Delta and Omicron waves and compared those rates with those of prior SARS-CoV-2 variants from our previously published work.

Methods

Individuals with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (n = 93; 32 vaccinated and 20 boosted

SUBMITTER: Lai J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9620356 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature