A national study of primates and humans with COVID published in the National Academy of Sciences makes a number of shocking discoveries, including data showing only a fifth of individuals are responsible for 80 percent of viral transmission.
The study tracked the expiration of virally loaded aerosols from humans and primates and Tulane National Primate Research Center Director of Infectious Disease Aerobiology Chad Roy said they discovered that much like other airborne infectious diseases such as tuberculosis COVID weakens airway mucus allowing viral particles to move more freely out of the body.
“The virus is physiologically rigging the respiratory system to produce these aerosols in greater numbers and it kind of gets to the underpinnings of transmission potential,” said Roy.
Peak viral expiration was found to be a week after initial infection, with patients’ viral expiration on average returning to normal after two weeks. Roy said this further proves the important message that if you get sick, you need to stay home.
“We need to heed that warning. It is this data,” said Roy.
Roy said the full study also showed that those who either have a high body mass index (BMI) or are older also on average produce more infectious respiratory particles than others when they are infected with COVID-19.
194 healthy people were tracked in the study as they went through the course of COVID.
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