What role do aerosols play in corona infection?

The big drop of nasal mucus quickly sinks to the ground, that much is clear. But the corona virus is tiny and can stay in the air longer in mini droplets. Research is increasingly focusing on these aerosols.When researching Corona infection routes Scientists are increasingly examining so-called aerosols. This is a mixture of solid or liquid suspended particles – like particles from Sars-CoV-2 – in the air.

“We are pretty sure that aerosols are one of the ways through which Covid-19 spreads,” said former president of the International Society for Aerosols in Medicine, Gerhard Scheuch, in Gemünden (Wohra) to the German Press Agency. Smear infections, for example, played a minor role.

But there are still many questions open, says Scheuch – for example, how the virus spreads when speaking or what role temperature plays. “A lot of research has to be done there,” he said. “But there is more and more research going on in this direction.” It is therefore far from clear how infectiously dried aerosols are…