Heavy respirators could be the Covid-19 SUPPRESSORS, with the elderly and obese the worst offenders
- U.S. researchers evaluated the exhaled aerosol particles of about 200 people
- Primates were also infected with Covid to see how the infection altered production
- BMI, age, and Covid infection were related to increased aerosol production
- 80% of aerosols were manufactured by 18% of people, which meets the definition of an overextension event.
Superspanders have long been known to be responsible for the vast majority of coronavirus infections and now a study has found that intense respirators are probably to blame.
The data show that more than 80% of all exhaled aerosol particles are produced by less than one in five people, who meet the technical definition of superchargers.
These tiny particles can carry viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19, and are so small that they float in the room and can last for several minutes.
Older people, people with a high BMI, and infected cases are more likely to be heavy respirators who expel large amounts of infectious particles, research shows.
Research shows that older people and people with a high BMI are more likely to be heavy respirators that expel huge amounts of infectious particles.
The first part of the study measured the number of particles expressed per individual per liter and compared it with a combination of their age and BMI.
It showed a strong link between age and BMI with increased production of exhaled aerosols, indicating that fatter and older people are the worst offenders for having been over-breathing heavily.
The study authors note that the study reveals a classic 20:80 distribution.
The so-called 80:20 rule means that for something to be scientifically considered a supercharger event, at least 80% of infections must be caused by no more than 20% of people.
“The phenomenon of COVID-19 dispersion may be not only a matter of air currents and proximity of infected and naive hosts, but also of phenotype,” the scientists write in their article published in PNAS.
Scientists from Harvard, MIT and Tulane University studied the exhaled breathing of 194 health care people.
They also deliberately gave Covid to eight monkeys to see if the coronavirus infection affected the amount of aerosols produced.
Writing in their study, the authors say that Covid-19 particles produced by infected primates “increase to a crescendo” one week after infection before falling back to normal after two weeks in a similar way to that seen in humans.
The data show that more than 80% of all exhaled aerosol particles are produced by less than one in five people. These tiny particles can carry viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19, and are so small that they float in the room and can last for several minutes (stock)
The increase in exhaled aerosols occurred even among asymptomatic cases of Covid-19, says Dr. Chad Roy, corresponding author of the Tulane study.
“It seems likely that viral and bacterial infections of the airways can weaken the mucus of the airways, which favors the movement of infectious particles into this environment,” he said.
The lead author, Dr. David Edwards of Harvard, believes how many breath drops a person produces according to their body and health.
“While our results show that young and healthy people tend to generate far fewer drops than older and less healthy ones, they also show that any of us, infected with COVID-19, may be at risk of producing a large number of respiratory drops, ‘He said.
Previous research has revealed that runners may also be superspanders of the virus.
A video, created by Professor Bert Blocken and Fabio Malizia (KU Leuven & Technology University Eiondhoven (TU / e)) and powered by simulation technology company Ansys, showed that the drops can extend more than six feet behind as you walk. , mail or ride a bike.
“If we see a whale or dolphin blowing through its blower, we can see the water and jump out of the way if necessary,” Marc Horner, Ansys ’chief health care engineer, told DailyMail.com.
But if someone sneezes or coughs, it happens so quickly and the drops are so small, [the simulation gets] this mental image in your mind of the distance you need to position yourself so that gravity has time to pull the drops down.