수치해석을 활용한 병원내 공기중 오염물질 전파 연구

초록

Airborne bacteria and fungi can be transmitted by airflow induced by the HVAC system in the hospital, which cause disease transmissions. Increasing concerns about the spread of airborne pathogens such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and novel swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) have attracted public attention to bioaerosols and its protection. Prediction on the transmission airborne contaminants including SARS inside an enclosed space such as an airliner cabin and a hospital ward have been made, providing a reasonable prediction for applications when the infection occurred and the virus was transmitted to a person staying at the same location in an enclosed space. In this study, we analyzed the flow pattern of medium-sized hospital ward consists of 30 patient beds and simulated the dispersion of point source from one bed to whole hospital. It was found that the current flow field caused by the HVAC system can increase the disease transmissions to other patients.