WHO Widens Definition Of Airborne Diseases

The New York Times (4/18, Zimmer) says a group of WHO advisers have “published a report laying out new definitions” of airborne diseases “that could have significant implications for countries around the world that depend on the agency to set policies to curb the spread of disease.” The WHO’s “previous stance was that only a handful of pathogens – those that travel in small droplets and spread across long distances, like tuberculosis – could be considered airborne.” However, “the new report suggests broader categories that do not rely on droplet size or distance spread.” These “changes were contentious because they raised the prospect that more diseases might now demand costly control measures, such as hospital isolation rooms and protective gear.” Reuters (4/18, Rigby) reports the WHO “released a technical document on the topic on Thursday. It said it was the first step towards working out how to better prevent this kind of transmission, both for existing diseases like measles and for future pandemic threats.” The report “concludes that the descriptor ‘through the air’ can be used for infectious diseases where the main type of transmission involves the pathogen travelling through the air or being suspended in the air, in line with other terms such as ‘waterborne’ diseases, which are understood across disciplines and by the public.”