Fomite Transmission in Airports Based on Real Human Touch Behaviors

Abstract

The public areas of airports are often bustling, raising the risk of infectious diseases spreading through fomites. We recorded 21.3 h of video at three airports, focusing on nine common areas (e.g., boarding and check-in areas) where people touch surfaces. We analyzed 25,925 touches to create a model for how microbes spread from surfaces to humans through touch. The airport mask-wearing rate is high (96.1% in non-restaurant areas), but it is lower (22%) in restaurants. Passengers touch their mucous membranes more often (10.3 times/hour) in restaurants compared to other areas (1.6 times/hour on average). Wearing a mask can significantly reduce the risk of obtaining a virus through direct contact with hands and mucous membranes. If everyone in non-restaurant areas wore masks, the viral intake fraction could be reduced by up to 97.4% compared to not wearing masks. People touch public surfaces the most in self-service check-in areas, at a rate of 473.5 times per hour. Disinfecting public surfaces or hands twice per hour could reduce the viral intake fraction in each area by 27.7% or 15.4%, respectively. The findings of this study provide valuable data support and a scientific foundation for implementing interventions aimed at mitigating fomite transmission within airport settings.