Germs and Flying: Developing Ventilation System Criteria

The development of ventilation and filter design criteria to limit exposures to airborne infectious aerosols requires knowledge of infectious aerosol generation and inhalation rates, ventilation and filtration/kill rates, ventilation efficiency, occupancy spatial volumes and exposure times. This study calculates respirable infectious aerosol exposure and normal at rest inhalation quantities by a group of persons using in-practice values for these spatial and HVAC parameters and an assumed influenza aerosol generation rate from the normally exhaled breath of one ill person for eight settings including both narrow and wide-body aircraft.