PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
To explore the potential of SARS-CoV-2 spread during air travel and the risk of in-flight transmission.
We enrolled all passengers and crew suspected of being infected with SARS-CoV-2, who bounded for Beijing on international flights. We specified the characteristics of all confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection and utilised Wells-Riley equation to estimate the infectivity of COVID-19 during air travel.
We screened 4492 passengers and crew with suspected COVID-19 infection, verified 161 confirmed cases (mean age 28.6 years), and traced two confirmed cases who may have been infected in the aircraft. The estimated infectivity was 375 quanta/h (range 274-476), while the effective infectivity was only 4 quanta/h (range 2-5). The risk of per-person infection during a 13 h air travel in economy class was 0.56‰ (95% CI 0.41‰-0.72‰).
We found that the universal use of face masks on the flight, together with the plane\'s ventilation system, significantly decreased the infectivity of COVID-19.KEY MESSAGESThe COVID-19 pandemic is changing the lifestyle in the world, especially air travel which has the potential to spread SARS-CoV-2.The universal use of face masks on the flight, together with the plane\'s ventilation system, significantly decreased the infectivity of COVID-19 on an aircraft.Our findings suggest that the risk of infection in aircraft was negligible.
We enrolled all passengers and crew suspected of being infected with SARS-CoV-2, who bounded for Beijing on international flights. We specified the characteristics of all confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection and utilised Wells-Riley equation to estimate the infectivity of COVID-19 during air travel.
We screened 4492 passengers and crew with suspected COVID-19 infection, verified 161 confirmed cases (mean age 28.6 years), and traced two confirmed cases who may have been infected in the aircraft. The estimated infectivity was 375 quanta/h (range 274-476), while the effective infectivity was only 4 quanta/h (range 2-5). The risk of per-person infection during a 13 h air travel in economy class was 0.56‰ (95% CI 0.41‰-0.72‰).
We found that the universal use of face masks on the flight, together with the plane\'s ventilation system, significantly decreased the infectivity of COVID-19.KEY MESSAGESThe COVID-19 pandemic is changing the lifestyle in the world, especially air travel which has the potential to spread SARS-CoV-2.The universal use of face masks on the flight, together with the plane\'s ventilation system, significantly decreased the infectivity of COVID-19 on an aircraft.Our findings suggest that the risk of infection in aircraft was negligible.
摘要：
目的探讨SARS-CoV-2在航空旅行中的传播潜力和飞行中传播的风险。
我们登记了所有涉嫌感染SARS-CoV-2的乘客和机组人员，他们乘坐国际航班前往北京。我们指定了所有确诊的COVID-19感染病例的特征，并利用Wells-Riley方程估计了COVID-19在航空旅行期间的传染性。
我们筛查了4492名疑似感染COVID-19的乘客和机组人员，经核实的161例确诊病例(平均年龄28.6岁)，并追踪了两名可能在飞机上感染的确诊病例。估计的传染性是375个量子/小时（范围274-476），而有效感染性仅为4个量子/h(范围2-5)。经济舱飞行13h期间每人感染的风险为0.56‰（95％CI0.41‰-0.72‰）。
我们发现，在飞行中普遍使用口罩，连同飞机的通风系统，显著降低COVID-19的传染性。关键信息新冠肺炎疫情正在改变世界的生活方式，特别是有可能传播SARS-CoV-2的航空旅行。口罩在飞行中的普遍使用，连同飞机的通风系统，显著降低了COVID-19在飞机上的传染性。我们的研究结果表明，飞机感染的风险可以忽略不计。
我们登记了所有涉嫌感染SARS-CoV-2的乘客和机组人员，他们乘坐国际航班前往北京。我们指定了所有确诊的COVID-19感染病例的特征，并利用Wells-Riley方程估计了COVID-19在航空旅行期间的传染性。
我们筛查了4492名疑似感染COVID-19的乘客和机组人员，经核实的161例确诊病例(平均年龄28.6岁)，并追踪了两名可能在飞机上感染的确诊病例。估计的传染性是375个量子/小时（范围274-476），而有效感染性仅为4个量子/h(范围2-5)。经济舱飞行13h期间每人感染的风险为0.56‰（95％CI0.41‰-0.72‰）。
我们发现，在飞行中普遍使用口罩，连同飞机的通风系统，显著降低COVID-19的传染性。关键信息新冠肺炎疫情正在改变世界的生活方式，特别是有可能传播SARS-CoV-2的航空旅行。口罩在飞行中的普遍使用，连同飞机的通风系统，显著降低了COVID-19在飞机上的传染性。我们的研究结果表明，飞机感染的风险可以忽略不计。
