Tribunnews Reporter, Fitri Wulandari
TRIBUNNEWS.COM, MARYLAND – A new study shows that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is likely to have less airborne spread than the mutated version of its new variant.
The researchers found that patients infected with the Alpha variant of Covid-19 emit 43 to 100 times more virus into the air than people infected with the original version of the coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2) which was first discovered in Wuhan, China.
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Alpha was the dominant strain circulating at the time of this study.
The factor driving the more airborne spread of the Alpha variant is due to the fact that patients infected with Alpha have increased amounts of the virus in their nasal swabs and saliva.
But according to a report published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, the amount of virus exhaled was 18 times more than could be explained by the higher viral load.
Quoted from Tribunnews.com from the page Channel News Asia, Thursday (9/23/2021), the researchers also found that the use of loose-fitting masks by patients infected with Covid-19 with mild symptoms can reduce the number of particles containing the virus in the air by about 50 percent.
As co-author Don Milton of the University of Maryland School of Public Health said in a statement.
“We know that the Delta variant currently circulating is even more contagious than the Alpha variant, but our research shows that the variant continues to get better in the course of its airborne spread, so we must provide better ventilation and wear tight masks in addition to vaccination efforts of course. , this is to help stop the spread of the virus,” Milton said.
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