On Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a comprehensive report titled “Global Technical Consultation Report on Proposed Terminology for Pathogens that Transmit through the Air,” after conducting a global technical consultation from major CDCs on the transmission of airborne pathogens.
The consultation, which took place in multiple stages between 2021 and 2023, highlighted the need for uniform terminology during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report presents updated consistent terminology for pathogens responsible for respiratory infections like COVID-19, influenza, measles, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), tuberculosis, and others.
The WHO said it had been agreed that all pathogen particles transmitted through the air, regardless of size, should be referred to as “infectious respiratory particles,” or IRPs. The distinction between airborne transmission or inhalation, and direct deposition which is when particles settle on another person’s exposed areas, was also maintained.
This agreed-upon terminology for airborne pathogen transmission is expected to pave the way for new research agendas and the execution of public health interventions to detect, communicate, and respond to both existing and emerging pathogens.
WHO Chief Scientist Jeremy Farrar stressed that the widespread adoption of the new terminology within the scientific community would enhance collaboration and cross-disciplinary understanding. The report is a significant milestone in the global effort to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and other respiratory infections that pose a threat to public health.
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