Use of Carbon Dioxide Monitoring to Assess Ventilation at a National Infectious Diseases Conference

Carbon Dioxide Monitoring Demonstrates Variations in the Quality of Ventilation on Public Transportation Buses and University Student Shuttle Vans and Identifies Effective Interventions

“…In the shuttle vans, the intervention involving operation of the ventilation system resulted in a significant reduction in carbon dioxide concentrations. Operation of the ventilation system may be particularly important when vehicles are parked and during city driving [ 7 , 8 ]. Second, passengers wishing to reduce their risk might consider avoiding peak travel times when ventilation may not be adequate for the number of vehicle occupants.…”

“…Public transportation provides an essential service, improving social inclusion and access to education and employment opportunities. Given the risk for transmission of respiratory viruses in motor vehicles used for public transportation [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15], there is a need for efforts to assess and optimize ventilation to reduce the risk for aerosol-mediated transmission. Here, we demonstrated considerable variability in the quality of ventilation in 3 types of vehicles based on carbon dioxide monitoring.…”

“…In addition to buildings, there is a risk for transmission of respiratory viruses in motor vehicles [7][8][9]. Elevated COVID-19 mortality rates have been reported among transportation workers in comparison to workers in other occupations [10].…”