University of the Witwatersrand Professor Shabir Madhi said airborne transmission of Covid-19 is a reality and has been underestimated.
Madhi said previously the focus was around the notion that patients are infected when coming in to contact with contaminated surfaces.
But that has since changed, he said.
Unfortunately, more recently based on a number of experiences, what we term as super-spreader events suggest there is a fair amount of airborne transmission taking place.
According to Madhi, after a patient becomes infected, many people lose antibodies after two to three months, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t underlying immunity”.
He said it was “safe to say” airborne transmissions were a reality, and that this explains the rapid rate at which the coronavirus is being transmitted.
“There are two parts to it, but the part we are referring to now is extremely small micro droplets they are suspended in the air for a reasonable period time. People who are in that vicinity, especially when the area is poorly ventilated, might inhale those contaminated micro droplets and that could cause an infection,” Madhi said.
So far the virus is believed to spread through droplets from the nose or mouth when a person speaks or coughs.
