Introducing Virus Index — Evaluate Airborne Virus Transmission Efficiency at your Home or Office
let’s all do our best to end this pandemic
airSniffler has created a virus index using published scientific studies that measures the transmission efficiency of an airborne virus. These published studies have measured the relationship between humidity, temperature and the transmission efficiency of influenza. Similar relationship has been identified with SARS CoV (COVID-19 is SARS CoV-2).
This index does not tell its user if they either have COVID-19 or if people nearby have COVID-19. airSniffler is not a medical device. Our goal is simply to inform a user of the device if the environment that they are occupying is a low or high risk for the transmission of a virus. It does not tell you if the virus is present. Also, there are other ways of getting infected besides airborne droplets.
Studies show that low humidity improves the transmission of viruses in the air. The droplets that have been released into the air by sneezing, dry out quickly, and virtually weightless viruses remain floating in the air indefinitely. Low humidity also increases the stability of the virus, improving its overall lifespan. Additionally, low humidity dries and irritates the skin and mucous membranes, encouraging viruses to reach the body. In the case of high humidity, on the contrary, droplets with the virus gain weight and fall faster.
Low temperature promotes the stability and spread of viruses, while high temperature reduces their lifespan. Low temperature also makes skin and mucous membranes more susceptible to infection.
However, there are exceptions to these general tendencies, that our Virus Index takes into consideration.
How does the Virus Index Work?
Our algorithm analyses the temperature and humidity, combines it with data from the studies, and provides a number in the range of 1 to 10 that represents virus transmission efficiency. Value of 1 means the efficiency of virus transmission by air is the smallest, value of 10 means the highest.
Get the airSniffler App
The app can be downloaded for free and a user can manually input temperature and humidity. The app will then calculate the Virus Index / transmission efficiency. If you have airSniffler monitor, the index is calculated automatically, 24 hours a day.
Please review our app EULA, Privacy Policy and Disclaimer.