Overview
- The peer-reviewed study in Microbiome analyzed used face masks and an aircraft HEPA filter and detected 407 microbial species.
- Airborne communities in airplanes and hospitals were highly similar, indicating people are the primary source of indoor microbes.
- Potentially pathogenic species appeared only at extremely low levels with no evidence of active infection.
- Because the methods captured DNA, the results emphasize bacteria and do not directly assess RNA viruses such as COVID-19 or influenza.
- Researchers also detected a handful of antibiotic resistance genes, underscoring both surveillance value and the feasibility of low-cost air monitoring with masks and filters.