The influenza virus can spread up to 6 feet from a patient's head via submicron particles during routine hospital care, according to a study of patients admitted to the emergency department (ED) and throughout a tertiary care hospital with influenza-like illness during the 2010 to 2011 influenza season. It was previously thought that the virus traveled only a short distance via large particle droplets during coughing or sneezing. Submicron particles are released in the air during talking and breathing.
Werner E. Bischoff, MD, PhD, an assistant professor in the Section on Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and colleagues published their findings online January 31 in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
Werner E. Bischoff, MD, PhD, an assistant professor in the Section on Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and colleagues published their findings online January 31 in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
