Airborne transmission of Tb, 1966, Communicable Disease Center, Public Health Service

This clip is from the 1966 film, Airborne transmission of tubercle bacilli, from the Communicable Disease Center and Public Health Service. This clip illustrates the airborne transmission of tuberculosis and the study used to verify this. Many other respiratory diseases are likely spread in a similar way, including the coronavirus. The question of transmission by droplet vs airborne routes has major implication for which public health control measures are needed to protect workers and the public. This is an old debate that has been argued for decades.
There is little, if any, direct evidence for the transmission of the coronavirus via any specific route. The evidence is admittedly incomplete for all the steps in COVID-19 transmission, but it is similarly incomplete for the large droplet and fomite modes of transmission. The airborne transmission mechanism operates in parallel with the large droplet and fomite routes that are now the basis of guidance. Following a precautionary approach, every potentially important pathway to slow the spread of COVID-19 must be addressed. The measures that should be taken to mitigate airborne transmission risk include: provide sufficient and effective ventilation (supply clean outdoor air, minimize recirculating air) particularly in public buildings, workplace environments, schools, hospitals, and aged care homes. supplement general ventilation with airborne infection controls such as local exhaust, high efficiency air filtration, and germicidal ultraviolet lights. avoid overcrowding, particularly in public transport and public buildings. Such measures are practical and often can be easily implemented; many are not costly. The lack of recognition of airborne transmission of COVID-19 and the lack of clear recommendations on the control measures against the airborne virus will have significant consequences: people may think that they are fully protected by adhering to the current recommendations, but in fact, additional airborne interventions are needed for further reduction of infection risk, including enhanced building ventilation. This matter is of heightened significance now, when countries are reopening following lockdowns: bringing people back to workplaces and students back to schools, colleges, and universities. For more on this debate, read, It is Time to Address Airborne Transmission of COVID-19 ( www.ncbi.nlm.n... ), by Drs. Morawska and Milton. This clip shows the mechanics involved in airborne transmission, from the expiration of the pathogen by the positive case, through the transmission of these bacilli in drops of mucus, and on to the subsequent inspiration of the microscopic particles by a susceptible person. A four-year study initiated in 1956 at the Veterans Hospital in Baltimore to verify this transmission pattern for Tb is illustrated in detail. In this study, the exhausted air from the six-patient pilot ward was circulated through an animal exposure chamber. The number of infections which occurred among the test animals indicates that the tubercle bacilli were present in the air. The entire six-minute film can be viewed and downloaded at the excellent National Library of Medicine’s website of historical audiovisual materials at medicineonscre... .

[@TVLuke15]

What does this even have to do with COVID

[@born4fun]

I think the bit in the description about covid needs to be changed as we now know that covid is airborne spread

[@spiltsoymilk]

This is about TB not COVID-19. 😄🤦‍♀️

[@americansforhire5378]

Spread purposely in the black neighborhoods of America until at lest the 90s