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New WHO proposed terminology for respiratory pathogen transmission

Nature Reviews Microbiology volume 22, pages 453–454 (2024)Cite this article

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A WHO report suggests the terms ‘airborne transmission/inhalation’, ‘direct deposition’ and ‘infectious respiratory particles’ for describing transmission modes, highlighting the continuum of particle size with greatest exposure near the source. The report did not update infection control guidelines.

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Fig. 1: Major modes of transmission of respiratory pathogens after incorporating the WHO proposed new terminology for pathogens that transmit through the air.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Nancy H. L. Leung

  2. Department of Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health, University of Maryland School of Public Health, College Park, MD, USA

    Donald K. Milton

Authors
  1. Nancy H. L. Leung
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  2. Donald K. Milton
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nancy H. L. Leung.

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Competing interests

N.H.L.L. discloses support from the Theme-based Research Scheme (T11-712/19-N; T11-705/21-N) from the Research Grants Council and the Health and Medical Research Fund (20190502) from the Health Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China. D.K.M. discloses support from the US National Institutes of Health, The Flu Lab and Balvi Filantropic Fund, and stock options from Lumen Bioscience, Inc. While both authors were part of the WHO consultation group advising on the referred report on proposed terminology for pathogens that transmit through the air (TTAT), and N.H.L.L. on indoor airborne risk assessment (ARIA), this Comment is solely the responsibility of both authors and does not represent the official views of TTAT, ARIA or WHO. The authors report no other competing interests.

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Leung, N.H.L., Milton, D.K. New WHO proposed terminology for respiratory pathogen transmission. Nat Rev Microbiol 22, 453–454 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-024-01067-5

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