The aerobiological pathway of natural respiratory viral aerosols

Aerosols generated from the human respiratory tract containing infectious virus can be challenging to measure due to a number of factors that impact the infectivity of the virus they contain. These factors include limitations in the understanding of respiratory aerosol composition, chemical processes that can change the composition and impact infectivity, and the effects of the aerosol collection process. The aerobiological pathway represents a framework to understand how factors influencing these particles can collectively contribute to limitations in the overall understanding of their potential infectiousness. Here, the aerobiological pathway is used to highlight areas of research that could improve the understanding of natural viral particles and their potential hazards. In particular, an improved understanding is required of the chemical and biological composition of the particles and how chemical processes in the aerosol phase can impact the composition. These findings will also be invaluable to improve airborne virus collection and detection.