Germs in the air on airplanes and in hospitals are harmless. New research

As part of an innovative project, experts studied microbes that settled on the outside of masks used by air passengers and medical personnel. In total, material from the masks of 10 passengers and 12 hospital employees was examined: the former handed over masks after the flight, the latter after work duty.

In addition, scientists studied the microbial composition accumulated on an aircraft cabin filter that had operated for more than 8,000 hours. As a result, 407 different types of microorganisms were identified.

Although several potentially dangerous microbes were present, their concentrations were extremely low and no signs of active infection were found. The idea to conduct the study came to Hartmann’s team in January 2022, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The authors of the work emphasize that the main source of microbes in closed spaces are people themselves, and most of the organisms detected are ordinary skin bacteria, and not pathogens. At the same time, researchers remind that infectious microorganisms are most often transmitted not by air, but through touch.