Check out the new word and the rationale behind the shift as the WHO redefines language for airborne infections
Humans have encountered a number of novel viral infectious diseases in the last 20 years. As a result of the emergence and spread of these viruses, humanity had to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, which almost destroyed the whole planet. According to a recent World Health Organization (WHO) study, top health organizations and over 500 specialists have finally reached consensus on what constitutes airborne disease transmission. This was done to prevent the misunderstanding that some scientists said lost lives during the early stages of the COVID-19 epidemic.
The WHO has revised its nomenclature to refer to viruses that are airborne as “pathogens that transmit the air.” Almost 500 experts, including engineers, physicists, and public health specialists, helped in the research of this. But several of them had previously differed sharply on the subject.
WHO is eliminating words like “droplets” and “aerosols.”
According to the UN, the nomenclature change is intended to facilitate the identification, exchange of ideas, and response to newly discovered airborne infections. According to the paper, WHO is switching from using words like “droplets” and “aerosols” to “infectious respiratory particles.”
Additionally, it seeks to dispel any misunderstanding about potential airborne transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic caused by divergent opinions on the virus’s mode of transmission—smaller aerosols vs bigger droplets.
Why is there a change in terminology?
The World Health Organization (WHO) states that the new term was chosen to reduce misunderstandings about the definition of airborne pathogen transmission that may infect humans. The WHO said in its report that a comprehensive consultation across scientific disciplines was held in 2021–2023, with the aim of describing the spread of viruses via the air.
According to the new nomenclature, all particles, whatever of size, avoided an infected person’s mouth or nose. The term “through the air” describes illnesses in which airborne particulate matter (IRPs) is either suspended in the air or travels through it as the primary mechanism of transmission. The WHO describes two types of transmission in this context. The first is airborne transmission, also known as inhalation, which occurs when IRPs are released into the atmosphere and, depending on other variables like ventilation and airflow, are breathed by others across short or long distances.
