Portable HEPA filtration successfully augments natural-ventilation-mediated airborne particle clearance in a legacy design hospital ward

M. Fennelly*, S. Hellebust, J. Wenger, David J O'Connor, G. W. Griffith, B. J. Plant, M. B. Prentice

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)
107 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

As the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 pandemic has proceeded, ventilation has been recognized increasingly as an important tool in infection control. Many hospitals in Ireland and the UK do not have mechanical ventilation and depend on natural ventilation. The effectiveness of natural ventilation varies with atmospheric conditions and building design. In a challenge test of a legacy design ward, this study showed that portable air filtration significantly increased the clearance of pollutant aerosols of respirable size compared with natural ventilation, and reduced spatial variation in particle persistence. A combination of natural ventilation and portable air filtration is significantly more effective for particle clearance than either intervention alone.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)54-57
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Hospital Infection
Volume131
Early online date14 Nov 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01 Jan 2023

Keywords

  • Airborne
  • Continuous monitoring
  • Environment
  • Filtration
  • HEPA
  • Low-cost sensors
  • Humans
  • Infection Control
  • Respiratory Aerosols and Droplets
  • Air Pollution, Indoor/analysis
  • Hospitals
  • COVID-19/prevention & control
  • Ventilation

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