REVIEW ARTICLE

Effect of wet deposition on the transmission of aerosolized SARS-CoV-2: Facts and mechanisms

Subendu Sarkar.1 Rajender Pal Singh.2 Gorachand Bhattacharya.3 

• .1ESIC Medical College and Hospital, NH-3, NIT, Faridabad 
• .2Department of Experimental Medicine and Biotechnology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh. .3Apollo Multispecialty Hospitals. 58, Canal Circular Road. Kolkata
•  

Corresponding Author: Subendu Sarkar, ESIC Medical College and Hospital, NH-3, NIT, Faridabad, Haryana-121001, India. E-mail: [email protected]

Received: May 20, 2024                                                              Published: June 03, 2024

Citation: Subendu Sarkar. Effect of wet deposition on the transmission of aerosolized SARS-CoV-2: Facts and mechanisms. Int J Complement Intern Med. 2024;6(1):268–275. DOI: 10. 58349/IJCIM. 1. 6. 2024. 00139

Copyright: ©2024 Subendu. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially.

Abstract 

Objectives: Rapid spreading of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) causes increasing morbidity and mortality worldwide. Researchers believe that SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) uses the airborne mode of transmission. Airborne transmission is crucial because in this way viral particles are dispersed maximum in the air. SARS-CoV-2 can be present in respiratory droplets and atmospheric aerosols. Aerosols having a diameter <10 µm can easily penetrate deep inside the lung and interact with alveolar epithelial cells. Thus, the accumulation of infectious aerosols in the air may rapidly spread COVID-19. Therefore, clearance of aerosols from the air is crucial to minimize airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2. 

Methods/Results: In this review, the latest and peer-reviewed publications obtained from Pubmed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus are evaluated to understand the underlying mechanisms of wet deposition and aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 dispersion. Infectious respiratory droplets may undergo the process of evaporation to produce respiratory droplet nuclei (≤5 μm in diameter), which is capable to suspend in the air for a long time. However, low relative humidity, high temperature, and speed of air are factors to influence aerosolized virus dispersion. Rain or precipitation is useful to remove air particulate matter to provide good air quality. It is reported that COVID-19 cases are less during monsoon. The wet deposition also affects the downward flux of aerosolized virus particles. 

Conclusion: Overall, precipitation may reduce the airborne SARS-CoV-2 transmission by removing aerosolized virus particles by wet deposition. However, rain intensity and total days of rainfall are crucial in this case.

Keywords: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 transmission, aerosol, particulate matter, rain, wet deposition

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