The airborne microbiome - implications for aerosol transmission and infection control

Edited by Julian Tang

Many infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, whooping cough, Aspergillus and other fungal infections, human and avian influenza, measles, chickenpox, and some of the emerging viruses, such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) can be potentially spread through aerosol transmission.

With the advent of deep-sequencing technologies these can be applied to environmental air samples using metagenomic techniques to characterise the presence and variety of airborne pathogens in the everyday air that we breathe in different environments (hospitals, clinics, homes, offices, entertainment venues, public transport - buses, trains, planes, etc.).

This series aims to explore and characterise the airborne microbiome in different environments, using different methods, in order to understand and assess the risk that such airborne pathogens may pose to both vulnerable and otherwise healthy individuals, and explore possible interventions to control their transmission.

We welcome submission of research articles and opinion pieces focused on the airborne microbiome in relation to infectious diseases.

If you have any research you would like us to consider please submit directly to BMC Infectious Diseases. Alternatively you can email your presubmission queries to Philippa.Harris@biomedcentral.com

The deadline for submissions of manuscripts is 30th September 2017.

Image source: CDC Public Health Image library ID 11162