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Prof Lidia Morawska of the Queensland University of Technology.
Image:Chantel Labbe/QUT
PhD candidate Zennia Jean Gonzaga and Prof Bernd Rehm with to the bio-reactor that grows cell factories to make functional polymer particles.
Australian scientists led early investigations into airborne transmission.
By understanding why black swans fall victim to the virus so easily and quickly, they hope to understand how the virus attacks, how the bird’s immune system responds, and glean insights into how the pathogen propagates. “Since 2003, this virus has only infected approximately 800 people worldwide — however, more than 50 per cent of infected individuals have not survived the disease,” says Short. “If the current pandemic teaches us anything, it’s that it is important we know more about potential animal-to-human viruses early.” Her team has already identified genes that are differently expressed in black swans. “We’re annotating immune genes in the black swan genome and comparing them to genes in the closely related mute swan genome, along with other avian species. We’re also employing computerdriven, large-scale comparisons of these genomes,” says Short. It’s the kind of research that may help find chinks in H5N1’s armour in preparation for doing battle in the years ahead. 4
AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITY SCIENCE
AIRBORNE TRANSMISSION
One good thing to come out of COVID-19 has been the acceptance in medical circles of how easily viruses transmit through the air — partly thanks to Professor Lidia Morawska, Director of the International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health at the Queensland University of Technology. In May 2021, the aerosol physicist led a group of 239 scientists from around the world — including physicians, virologists and epidemiologists — to convince the World Health Organisation that airborne spread of SARS-CoV-2 was not only possible, but actually happening. Mitigating this risk in buildings will require an overhaul of national buildings codes, adding ‘air quality’ as top priority for indoor ventilation. But Morawska argues this is needed not just to fight pandemics; poor indoor air quality is increasingly recognised by scientists as a health issue. Australians spend 90% of their time indoors — in homes, schools, restaurants, offices, public buildings or inside cars.
As buildings become better sealed from the outside, pollutants within are being found at high concentrations. The medical cost of indoor air pollutants alone runs at $140 million a year, while its wider burden to the economy may be as high as $12 billion a year. “We need building engineering controls that take into account the physics knowledge we already have about airborne infection and transmission,” she says. “But we also need a paradigm change in how buildings are designed, equipped and operated, to minimise all airborne risks — not just infection transmission, but airborne particulate matter emitted by industry, transport, bushfires and dust storms.” While indoor air quality is a developing science, it’s an issue that is rising to prominence — partly thanks to COVID-19 and the repeated instances of airborne transmission, which have led to large-scale transmission and lockdowns with devastating economic impacts. While new codes would apply only to new buildings, older buildings should also have ventilation systems retrofitted, Morawska says. This would not only minimise infection transmission in future pandemics, but dramatically reduce the incidence of respiratory disease from indoor air pollutants. “When inhaled, fine particles can damage heart and brain function, circulation, breathing and the immune and endocrine systems,” she says. Her centre is developing scientific and engineering solutions to suppress airborne transmission of respiratory viruses, including intelligent building systems, new quantitative methods for assessing a plethora of indoor air risks and practical tools to improve indoor environments. COVID-19 has forced us to take the existing science more seriously, which will make our workplaces healthier. And that’s a good thing, she says. — Wilson da Silva