Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Contagion

You're probably wondering what Contagion is; it is the name of a popular movie that just hit the box office a few weeks ago. The movie is about a worldwide epidemic that is caused by a chimera virus that is composed of DNA from a bat and a pig. The main route of transmission of the virus was fomite contact and respiratory inhalation. While I was watching the movie I became mindful of just how effective a cough can be at airborne transmission. In a vigorous cough, the pressure in your thoracic cavity can reach  300 mm Hg and the exiting velocity of the air can reach 300 miles/hour. At this pressure and velocity you can atomize liquid in your sinus cavity and provide a perfect means of transportation for a virus particle.
Schlieren image of the air flow during a vigorous cough.

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