The first major corona outbreak in Germany took place in the Heinsberg district at the beginning of 2020. A carnival session in Gangelt turned out to be a superspreader event. The Bonn virologist Hendrik Streeck has now taken a close look at the session.
Translation of a German article. See here
Take-aways:
- A ventilation system that mainly blows air around without changing, filtering or ionizing spreads sickening breath
- Smokers became less ill: because they went outside more often to smoke a cigarette.
Conclusion: Too little attention to ventilation is more harmful than smoking in virus-rich times. We know about anti-smoking campaigns, but I haven't seen a ventilation effort yet. ]
[Addition 11 Sept: There are also other explanations such as the reduced sensitivity of cells in smokers' lungs due to permanent mild inflammation or a study that shows how cigarette smoke can affect the action of ACE2 receptors. Maurice now has a more extensive piece.]
Bonn/Gangelt. Ventilation played an important role in the spread of the coronavirus during the "Kappensitzung" in Gangelt on February 15, 2020. This is evident from a study by the Bonn virologist Hendrik Streeck and other scientists, in pre-print, including the text of this article, also as a Dutch version.
"The research clearly shows how important good ventilation with fresh air and filter systems are," Streeck told the German news agency.
Air movement by ventilators promotes the spread of the coronavirus in Gangelt
For months, the researchers surveyed 411 of the approximately 450 participants in the carnival session. The session had become a Superspread event. Nearly half of the participants – 46 percent – contracted the virus.
According to the findings, ventilation played a major role in the spread of the virus in the hall. It provided only 30 percent fresh air to the hall, whose windows were closed. As a result, ventilation spread the virus, Streeck said.
The chance of infection was correspondingly greater if you sat at the table where the air was drawn in or at the bar where the air was blown out again. On the other side of the room, the risk was lower.
Research into corona outbreak in Gangelt: smokers less affected
Alcohol consumption has not been shown to be a risk factor. Previously, it was speculated that participants who drank a lot of alcohol were more disinhibited and may have had more physical contact. Gender also had no effect, according to the findings.
A reduction in risk has been found in smokers – with the researchers stressing that smoking is undoubtedly harmful to health. The reason for the positive effect in this case may be that smokers went outside more often and thus breathed fresh air. Others who left the room during the break also significantly reduced their risk in general.
Corona research by virologist Hendrik Streeck: That's how important ventilation is
"Everything speaks for the fact that aerosols and ventilation play a decisive role in whether or not an infection is present," Streeck summarized the results.
It has again been confirmed that age is a major risk factor for Covid 19 infection. The following applies: the older, the higher the risk. Children can become infected, but the chances are slim, Streeck says. "The age of the participants in the meeting varied between 6 and 79 years. Until the age of 40, we see a risk increase of 28 percent per life decade. All participants had the same exposure to the virus."
