Jennifer Moore 😷Useful open letter to the World Health Organisation from Trish Greenhalgh and colleagues, on the plausible risk of airborne #Hantavirus.
"The evidence supporting respiratory person-to-person transmission of ANDV is now substantial and comes from epidemiological, biological, and operational observations. ...
"Experimental evidence supports respiratory and salivary pathways of transmission. Yet we are unaware of any research which has examined aerosol shedding dynamics or the timing of contagiousness relative to symptom onset. ...
"There is also strong evidence that respirators provide greater protection than surgical masks for healthcare workers against respiratory infections when worn continuously indoors. ...
"Although efficient community transmission comparable to measles or SARS-CoV-2 has not been demonstrated, this is not justification for dismissing respiratory risk. ...
"WHO’s default recommendations for severe pathogens with respiratory transmission potential should begin from a precautionary airborne-risk framework — including respirators, ventilation optimisation, and portable HEPA filtration — and only be relaxed if evidence later demonstrates that such measures are unnecessary."
https://trishgreenhalgh.substack.com/p/respiratory-protection-and-the-precautionary
maddox