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Air Decontamination

There is little evidence to show that air plays a significant role in the transmission of most healthcare-associated infections. In those cases where airborne transmission is thought to be important, both dilution of pathogens in the air and controlling airflow into, or out of, a room are mechanisms for reducing risk. This can be important for protection of highly vulnerable patients ("airborne protective isolation") or protection of staff and visitors inside an isolation room, or other patients, staff and visitors outside an isolation room ("airborne source isolation"). Ventilation systems can be set-up to control directions of airflow and dilution of airborne pathogens. Such dedicated systems can be expensive. There also exist portable systems that recirculate air within a given space. By means of filtration, ultraviolet light or other methods of killing or trapping micro-organisms, they can reduce airborne levels of pathogens but cannot, by these means alone, control airflow into or out of a room. The quality assurance that a system continues to work as intended is vital for any air decontamination regime.

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