Describing something that is carried or transmitted through the air.
In infectious disease, airborne transmission refers to transmission through infectious particles that can remain suspended in the air and travel through it, sometimes over considerable distances depending on environmental conditions.
The term is sometimes used loosely to describe any infection spread through the air, but infection-control terminology distinguishes airborne transmission from other respiratory routes, such as larger respiratory droplets or direct contact.
QUICK FACT
“Airborne” does not simply mean that an infection can be spread by breathing, coughing, or sneezing; the size, behavior, and persistence of infectious particles matter.
COMMONLY CONFUSED WITH
Droplet transmission: involves larger respiratory particles that generally travel shorter distances and settle more quickly.
SEE ALSO
- Transmission
- Infectious Agent
- Respiratory Infection
- Contagious