ABSTRACT
Airborne contagion is not new. Pasteur demonstrated bacterial survival in air by showing that sterile solutions could become contaminated when exposed to air. This chapter discusses the factors that allow a disease to be transmitted through the air and reviews approaches to the control of airborne contagious disease. Contagious diseases can only occur when a living organism overcomes the defenses of the host and multiplies within the host. Organisms that are known to cause contagious disease include viruses and bacteria. Evidence from outbreaks and epidemics has been used to document the consistent airborne route for transmission of some diseases, and for accidental or unusual airborne transmission for others. Diseases that are transmitted by small particle aerosols often spread rapidly, causing explosive epidemics, and nearly all susceptible people are infected within a short time. The control of most contagious disease is centered on immunization and the use of antibiotics. Both immunization and antibiotics have dramatically decreased the incidence of many diseases.
