Less infectious particles from children’s lungs

A comprehensive analysis on particle exhalation in adults and children. In a clean room, the particle concentration of different individuals was measured during different vocalization activities. MPI-DS / LFPB - Children exhale significantly fewer potentially infectious particles than adults - at least this is true for the small respiratory droplets that are predominantly produced in the lungs. This is a key finding of a study conducted by the Max Planck Institutes for Dynamics and Self-Organization and for Chemistry in collaboration with the University Göttingen Medical Center. The researchers investigated the concentrations of aerosol particles and droplets emitted with the breath when breathing, speaking, singing and shouting, using measurements on 132 people of all ages. The findings help to understand how the spread of diseases like influenza or Covid-19 can be contained. Infectious diseases are often transmitted via particles exhaled from infected persons.