After consulting with public health authorities and experts, the World Health Organization (WHO) produced a global technical consultation paper that includes updated nomenclature for illnesses that spread through the air. This section covers the bacteria that cause respiratory diseases, such as influenza, measles, COVID-19, tuberculosis, influenza, and Middle East respiratory illness (MERS).
Airborne Pathogen Consultation
The document, “Global Technical Consultation Report on Proposed Terminology for Pathogens that transmit through the air,” is the result of a lengthy, multi-year effort. The World Health Organization, along with specialists and four major public health organizations, agreed on and adopted the terminology.This agreement shows how committed the public health authorities are to working together to advance this issue.
The comprehensive survey, which happened in phases between 2021 and 2023, focused on the lack of a common vocabulary across scientific domains to describe the airborne transmission of viruses. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the complexity was brought to light by the requirement for specialists in a range of disciplines to offer scientific and policy assistance. Distinct terminologies made it more difficult to interact with the public and stop the virus from spreading by exposing comprehension gaps in the public.
Dr. Jeremy Farrar of WHO expressed satisfaction in reaching consensus with diverse health agencies, aiding research and interventions.
After conducting a thorough survey, experts introduced the following common descriptors to describe airborne transmission of infections under typical circumstances.
Global Revision
When a person breathes, talks sings, spits, coughs, or sneezes, they can produce and release infectious particles that contain the respiratory infection through their mouth or nose. Use the term “infectious respiratory particles” (IRPs) to characterize these particles.
IRPs come in a range of sizes. Hence, it is not appropriate to use a single cutoff point to differentiate between smaller and bigger particles. This makes it easier to abandon the binary terminology that was previously in use: “droplets,” which are typically larger particles, and “aerosols,” which are typically smaller particles.
When describing an infectious disease primarily spread by airborne transmission, such as through the air or suspended in the atmosphere, “through the air” can broadly apply.
1. In inhalation or airborne transmission, infectious respiratory particles (IRPs) are released into the atmosphere and inhaled by another individual. Ventilation, temperature, humidity, and airflow influence airborne transmission distance. IRPs may enter the body at any respiratory tract point. Certain pathogens target specific entry sites.
2. Direct deposition occurs when infectious respiratory particles released by an individual land on another person’s mouth, nose, or eyes.
The WHO Technical Working Group Co-Chair, Dr. Gagandeep Kang of Christian Medical College in Vellore, India, observed, “This global technical consulting procedure was a result of the combined efforts of numerous powerful and knowledgeable specialists. It was no easy task to agree on these terms that brought stakeholders together in a never-before-seen manner. Dr. Yuguo Li, co-chairing the Technical Working Group, sees the consultation’s completion as an opportunity to advance guidelines.
The first round of the WHO-led international scientific debates was this consultation. The next steps involve investigating the broader implementation implications of the updated descriptors and doing additional technical and transdisciplinary research.