Portable HEPA filtration successfully augments natural-ventilation-mediated airborne particle clearance in a legacy design hospital ward.

As the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 pandemic has proceeded, ventilation has been recognized increasingly as an important tool in infection control. Many hospitals in Ireland and the UK do not have mechanical ventilation and depend on natural ventilation. The effectiveness of natural ventilation varies with atmospheric conditions and building design.

Real-time Monitoring of Aerosol Generating Dental Procedures.

Objective: We aimed to quantify aerosol concentrations produced during different dental procedures under different mitigation processes.

Method: Aerosol concentrations were measured by the Optical Particle Sensor (OPS) and Wideband Integrated Bioaerosol Sensor (WIBS) during routine, time-recorded dental procedures on a manikin head in a partitioned enclosure. Four different, standardised dental procedures were repeated in triplicate for three different mitigation measures.

Assessment of Environmental and Occupational Risk Factors for the Mitigation and Containment of a COVID-19 Outbreak in a Meat Processing Plant.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, meat processing plants have been vulnerable to outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Transmission of the virus is difficult to control in these settings because of a combination of factors including environmental conditions and the specific nature of the work. This paper describes a retrospective outbreak investigation in a meat processing plant, a description of the measures taken to prevent or contain further outbreaks, and insights on how those with specific knowledge of the working environment of these plants can collaborate with public health authorities to ensure optimal outbreak control.

Containment of procedure-associated aerosols by an extractor tent: effect on nebulized drug particle dispersal.

Background: Several medical procedures involving the respiratory tract are considered as 'aerosol-generating procedures'. Aerosols from these procedures may be inhaled by bystanders, and there are consequent concerns regarding the transmission of infection or, specific to nebulized therapy, secondary drug exposure.

Aim: To assess the efficacy of a proprietary high-efficiency-particulate-air-filtering extractor tent on reducing the aerosol dispersal of nebulized bronchodilator drugs.

Effectiveness of a plasma treatment device on microbial air quality in a hospital ward, monitored by culture.

This study analysed the effectiveness of plasma treatment on airborne bacteria and surface counts during a 14-day intervention within a four-bedded bay in an adult respiratory ward at Cork University Hospital, Ireland. One-hundred-litre air samples were collected twice daily every weekday for 4 weeks, with settle plates and surface swabs. The plasma treatment did not have an effect on airborne bacteria and fungi that was detectable by culture.