- New WHO report says cold and flu viruses spread through the air, not on surfaces
- The guidelines mean that mitigation measures such as handwashing are not as effective
- READ MORE: CDC says the coronavirus DOES spread through the air
Sharing glasses and bottles of water with a sick friend or family member may not infect you with the common cold virus after all, World Health Organization experts say in a groundbreaking report.
New guidelines from a coalition of nearly 50 doctors have overturned the commonly held idea that infected droplets transferred from hard surfaces and skin are the cause of respiratory viruses such as colds and flu.
The decision settled a Covid-era debate over whether some viruses, such as Covid, spread primarily through inhaling infected air or through contaminated surfaces.
Speaking to DailyMail.com, virology experts welcomed the conclusion that surfaces are not as important as previously thought, which they said should have been confirmed early in the pandemic.
Virology experts spoke to DailyMail.com about the change, noting that the germs that spread on surfaces, such as cups and even hands, do not contribute to the spread of lung infections such as colds and flu.
The long-standing dogma among infectious disease experts and scientists was that droplets under five microns became airborne, while larger droplets shot out like bullets and spread three to eight feet.
Dr. Don Milton, an expert on respiratory viruses and co-author of the new WHO guidelines, told DailyMail.com: We know that for gastrointestinal infections (washing hands and being careful when touching surfaces such as cups) will be important are.
‘I think it’s probably a lot less important how important they are for respiratory viruses.’
The WHO guidance applied to all pathogens that cause lung infections, including Covid, influenza and rhinovirus.
The report did not mention non-respiratory infections, such as gastrointestinal infections such as norovirus, which can be spread through germs on the hands.
Until the end of 2020, the WHO had considered only some infections to be airborne, such as tuberculosis and measles. Most of these were classified as ‘droplet transmission’.
Until the end of 2020, the WHO had considered only some infections as airborne, such as tuberculosis and measles
Covid was initially classified in the same way. That message prompted millions of people in early 2020 to disinfect every surface, including groceries and mail. This even caused a shortage of cleaning products at the time.
But there was mounting evidence that Covid could be transmitted via aerosolized particles. Suspended particles can linger in the air for hours, casting a disease-causing cloud over an infected person that follows them everywhere.
Dr. Stuart Ray, an infectious disease expert at Johns Hopkins Medicine, told DailyMail.com: “I think the lessons of Covid have helped us understand that that cloud of particles can move,” adding that people still need to always have to wash their hands.
The long-standing dogma among infectious disease experts was that droplets under five microns floated through the air, while larger droplets shot out like bullets and spread three to eight feet.
But scientists have recently discovered that infectious particles come in different sizes, and that small particles can remain in the air for much longer and spread over greater distances.
The report came after doctors from a range of specialties besides virology, including engineers and aerosol scientists, worked for two long years to reach a conclusion. Dr. Milton, who has long believed that respiratory viruses spread through the air, found the delay frustrating.
He said: ‘When we showed we could grow the virus from people’s exhaled breath (in 2013), I thought we would get over the hill at that point, but clearly there is still some way to go is.
“Some of that resistance comes from the fact that some solutions require investments in infrastructure and require people to do things, and those are two hard things to do: put money aside and change what you do.”