Airborne Disease and their Prevention

Airborne diseases are spread when droplets of disease causing germs are expelled into the air due to coughing, sneezing or talking.  These germs float in the air and may be inhaled or come in contact with mucus membranes to cause disease.

Most respiratory infections are transmitted by this route. Common childhood illnesses such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection, measles, mumps and chickenpox are all airborne diseases. Other infections like tuberculosis, influenza, and meningitis are some of the more serious air-borne illnesses. Some of these infections such as tuberculosis require prolonged exposure to the source for infection to occur.

Airborne disease can be prevented by taking precautions as follows:

• If someone is particularly prone to airborne diseases, specific measures can be taken to prevent it. Some of these are enumerated below:
  1. Personal respiratory protection with a respirator
  2. Airborne infection isolation room
• Apart from these two specific measures, standard measures of protection should be taken. Staying home when ill, frequent hand-washing, keeping close contact with an ill person to a minimum, allowing a few feet distance from others while ill, and wearing a mask, covering coughs and sneezes with elbow or tissue can greatly reduce transmission.
• Using personal protective equipment like gloves while handling body fluids, gowns, masks, eye protection and face shield should be used while interacting with infected person.
• Avoid contamination of clothing and the transfer of microorganisms to other people, surfaces and environments. Clean, disinfect or reprocess non-disposable equipment before reuse. Discard single-use items properly.