How Far Do Airborne Pathogens Travel?
How far do airborne pathogens travel you may ask. Several factors are involved in answering this inquiry. Coughing, sneezing, breathing, singing, and laughing all contribute to the original distribution of airborne pathogens by humans. The velocity behind germs being expelled from a person contribute to how far airborne pathogens travel as well as air current, HVAC systems and air filtration/purification used, type and size of the malignant microbe, movement within the room by individuals, temperature and humidity. Several studies have been done to see how far airborne pathogens travel. It is surprising to note some airborne pathogens travel great distances within buildings through HVAC systems. Penn State indicated in their study with Tuberculosis microbes that within a ten story building during an 8 hour period, malignant microbes had traveled from the first floor of a building to the tenth floor through the HVAC system.
“Many respiratory viruses and bacterial spores are light enough to be lifted by the wind. These agents can subsequently be inhaled, where they cause lung infections…”
The above statement I found in an article@ http://www.answers.com/topic/pathogen-transmission#ixzz1NSxYsuxf
The link above explains some of the ways in which airborne pathogens travel. If you travel by air being confined in a plane where another traveler is infected with a contagious disease or illness you could be at risk of acquiring the infection or disease as well. The recirculation of air is normally 50% within an aircraft cabin. The link for a very detailed article with diagrams and graphs on airborne pathogen travel in passenger aircraft is found below. I think you will find it very informative.
https://engineering.purdue.edu/~yanchen/paper/2011-3.pdf