Self-contained system for mitigation of contaminated aerosol sources of SARS-CoV-2

Contaminated aerosols and micro droplets are easily generated by infected hosts through sneezing, coughing, speaking and breathing(1–3) and harm humans’ health and the global economy. While most of the efforts are usually targeted towards protecting individuals from getting infected,(4) eliminating transmissions from infection sources is also important to prevent disease transmission. Supportive therapies for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV-2) pneumonia such as oxygen supplementation, nebulizers and non-invasive mechanical ventilation all carry an increased risk for viral transmission via aerosol to healthcare workers.(5–9) In this work, we study the efficacy of five methods for self-containing aerosols emitted from infected subjects undergoing nebulization therapies with a diverse spectrum on oxygen delivery therapies. The work includes five study cases: Case I: Use of a Full-Face Mask with biofilter in bilevel positive airway pressure device (BPAP) therapy, Case II: Use of surgical mask in High Flow Nasal Cannula (HFNC) therapy, Case III: Use of a modified silicone disposable mask in a HFNC therapy, Case IV: Use of a modified silicone disposable mask with a regular nebulizer and normal breathing, Case V: Use of a mitigation box with biofilter in a Non-Invasive Positive Pressure Ventilator (NIPPV). We demonstrate that while cases I, III and IV showed efficacies of 98–100%; cases II and V, which are the most commonly used, resulted with significantly lower efficacies of 10–24% to mitigate the dispersion of nebulization aerosols. Therefore, implementing cases I, III and IV in health care facilities may help battle the contaminations and infections via aerosol transmission during a pandemic.