After Covid, WHO defines disease spread ‘through air’
To avoid misunderstanding during the Covid-19 pandemic, which some scientists believe claimed lives, 500 specialists and the WHO agreed on the criteria of airborne illness propagation. The first step in stopping the spread of illnesses like measles and other airborne hazards to public health is to define "through the air" according to a technical document produced by the UN health agency. In keeping with other words like "waterborne" diseases, the document states that the phrase "through the air" can be used for infectious diseases if the primary mode of transmission involves the pathogen passing through or being suspended in the air. According to the new definition, infectious particles are classified as "droplets" or "aerosols" depending on their size, as well as the severity of the disease and the danger of exposure. The revised definition does away with earlier arguments concerning the classification of infectious particles as "droplets" or "aerosols" according to their size. While acknowledging the paucity of data at the start of the pandemic, the proposed definition goes beyond Covid.
