The COVID-19 pandemic: Virus transmission and risk assessment

N Gayathri Menon; Sanjeeb Mohapatra

doi:10.1016/j.coesh.2022.100373

The COVID-19 pandemic: Virus transmission and risk assessment

Curr Opin Environ Sci Health. 2022 Aug:28:100373. doi: 10.1016/j.coesh.2022.100373. Epub 2022 Jun 1.

Authors

N Gayathri Menon¹, Sanjeeb Mohapatra²

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Research in Nanotechnology and Science (CRNTS), Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India.
² NUS Environmental Research Institute, National University of Singapore, 1 Create Way, Create Tower, #15-02, Singapore 138602, Singapore.

Abstract

The coronaviruses are the largest known RNA viruses of which SASR-CoV-2 has been spreading continuously due to its repeated mutation triggered by several environmental factors. Multiple human interventions and lessons learned from the SARS 2002 outbreak helped reduce its spread considerably, and thus, the virus was contained but the emerging mutations burdened the medical facility leading to many deaths in the world. As per the world health organization (WHO) droplet mode transmission is the most common mode of SASR-CoV-2 transmission to which environmental factors including temperature and humidity play a major role. This article highlights the responsibility of environmental causes that would affect the distribution and fate of the virus. Recent development in the risk assessment models is also covered in this article.

Keywords: Humidity; Risk Assessment; SARS-CoV-2; Temperature; Transmission.

Publication types

Review