Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

4-21-2023

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 is a virus that is spread through aerosol transmission, meaning the viral particles can stay suspended in the air when in an aerosol. To study how viral particles disperse through aerosol we used the bacteriophage Phi6 as a surrogate for SARS-CoV-2. We released an aerosolized bacteriophage into the air using a nebulizer and placed plates containing a host organism at different distances and durations of exposure that the phage would kill when encountering. This allowed us to calculate rates of transmission, which were then used to create an agent-based model in Netlogo. This model can then be used to further analyze how the virus spreads and make inferences about how safe different settings would be. If we can experimentally determine to what extent airflow and air change rates in a room affect aerosol transmission, we can optimize HVAC settings to decrease transmission.

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