We hypothesized that liquid menisci occlusions may form inside small airways, travel along the airway while losing mass and finally may disintegrate into bioaerosols. Spreading of the COVID-19 virus is strongly related to the number of such bioaerosols exhaled by “super-spreaders”. We show, employing numerical methods, that this number can be diminished by administering surfactants which lower the surface-tension of the mucus which covers the airways.
Malashenko, A., Tsuda, A. and Haber, S. (2009) Propagation and Breakup of Liquid Menisci and Aerosol Generation in Small Airways. Journal of Aerosol Medicine and Pulmonary Drug Delivery, 22, 341-353.
https://doi.org/10.1089/jamp.2008.0696
