CLF study to investigate transmission of viruses

News

The new study, funded by the UK government under the PROTECT COVID-19 National Core Study, will use an intricate laser trapping technique to help reveal how viruses hitch-hike on airborne droplets.

The collaboration, led by Manchester University’s Professor Neil Bourne, will involve teams from the CLF, Diamond Light Source, Public Health England and the Health and Safety Executive with advice from Dstl.

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One possible source of transmission of COVID-19 is through the air, carried by aerosol droplets expelled by the host through actions such as sneezing, coughing, or by speaking.

According to STFC, the team will focus on aerosol-based transmissions, mapping the behaviour of particles and inactivated viruses within a droplet. These inactivated viruses exhibit the same physical properties as the ‘real’ virus but is non-infectious and safe to study.

The team aims to determine the fate of those viruses through the lifetime of the droplet, including deliberately placing the droplets on different surfaces including the material in a facemask.

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