COVID-19 human challenge study reveals more insights into how virus spreads

New analysis shows how the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads from the nose to the air and surfaces in the immediate surroundings. The findings are the second batch of results to come from the COVID-19 Human Challenge Programme, led by Imperial College London and partners, and provide granular insights into how people infected with SARS-CoV-2 spread the virus to their immediate surroundings. In February 2021, 36 healthy, young participants with no previous immunity to the virus were infected with SARS-CoV-2 under controlled clinical conditions in a residential facility at the Royal Free Hospital in London, where they could be carefully monitored. They remained at the facility until they were no longer infectious. The facility enabled researchers to track the course of infection in great detail, with the clinical team taking daily swabs from participants’ noses and mouths, as well as environmental samples of the air and swabs of surfaces in their rooms. Viral emissions Out of 36...