Dispersion of airborne transmissible diseases in an ICU ward

Airborne transmissible diseases pose a significant public health concern due to their potential for rapid and widespread transmission. To gain insights into the dispersion dynamics of these pathogens in an ICU ward, we conducted experimental and numerical analyses. Integrating the experimental data with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis allowed us to comprehensively understand human-generated aerosol dispersion in a high-populated and high-risk environment. The ICU ward was monitored in real-time for CO2 and particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations, serving as proxies for viral load distribution. Additionally, CFD simulations based on the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes model were conducted to gain insights into the flow dynamics impacting transmission risk. The experimental results indicated a moderate correlation between the CO2 cloud and PM distribution. This is because CO2 tends to be unaffected by HEPA filters, suggesting that PM2.5 measurements serve as a better proxy for viral loads. Similar results were observed in the CFD simulations, which also provided detailed information about possible mitigation strategies to reduce the risk of contamination.