I’m confused about the distinction between fomite and droplet transmission.
From what I’ve read, fomite transmission must involve surface touching, whereas droplet transmission must involve droplets, which are expelled by coughing or sneezing, directly landing (like a bullet) in your mouth, nose, or eyes without any extra contact or touching.
These methods of transmission seem so implausible (how many people actually sneeze or cough directly in someone’s face?) to be major causes of spread that it’s hard to believe that no one seemed to have performed definitive experiments to test these ideas for many decades. On the other hand, even seemingly definitive experiments (like the rhinovirus study) don’t seem able to shift expert opinion. In the case of rhinovirus, maybe one experient isn’t enough, but then the question is why no one seems to have been interested in replicating it.
Don’t you mean millions of deaths?
From what I’ve read, fomite transmission must involve surface touching, whereas droplet transmission must involve droplets, which are expelled by coughing or sneezing, directly landing (like a bullet) in your mouth, nose, or eyes without any extra contact or touching.
These methods of transmission seem so implausible (how many people actually sneeze or cough directly in someone’s face?) to be major causes of spread that it’s hard to believe that no one seemed to have performed definitive experiments to test these ideas for many decades. On the other hand, even seemingly definitive experiments (like the rhinovirus study) don’t seem able to shift expert opinion. In the case of rhinovirus, maybe one experient isn’t enough, but then the question is why no one seems to have been interested in replicating it.