Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19)

Over IOM’s 50 year history, we have provided several ground-breaking studies linking lung disease to exposure to dusts, fibres and chemicals.  With the advent of the Covid-19 crisis, our experience and expertise in understanding aerosol behaviour, aerosol and chemical exposures from inhalation and surface contact, exposure reduction potential of PPE, ventilation, and other control measures for making workplaces safe, were all highly relevant to assessing risk and helping workplaces during the pandemic. 

Supporting a national programme of research into SARS COV2 transmission and environment.

IOM proud to be a part of the Partnership for Research in Occupational, Transport and Environmental COVID Transmission National Core Study (PROTECT NCS) During the current pandemic, healthcare workers were at high risk of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and were generally at higher risk of infection by respiratory pathogens. They may have be infected by hand-to-mouth or mucous membrane contacts, direct droplet spatter from coughs and sneezes and by inhalation of fine droplets of lung fluids. There is little evidence about the concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 virus in the air or on surfaces in hospitals and other healthcare settings, which made it difficult to judge the relative importance of these routes and hence the best way to effectively protect healthcare workers.

Our research project collected air and surface contamination data from hospitals in Scotland, along with information about infection risk behaviours of staff, for example touching potentially contaminated surfaces and then touching their face. These data was used to mathematically model the routes by which virus can infect workers, and this model will then be used to explore the effectiveness of various novel intervention strategies designed to protect workers, such as the treatment of surfaces to reduce survival of virus, use of localised and room filtration ventilation, use of surgical masks or respirators and other measures.

The Lead Investigator for this research project is Dr Miranda Loh. Other scientists form IOM involved in the work are Dr Mark Cherrie, Dr Susanne Steinle and David Holmes.

The project involves scientists from universities in Scotland and from Public Health England (PHE). Key members of the Team are Professor Ewan MacDonald from the University of Glasgow, Dr Sean Semple from the University of Stirling and Dr Ginny Moore at PHE.

Contact us by emailing [email protected]

Supporting a national programme of research into SARS COV2 Transmission and environment

IOM proud to be a part of the Partnership for Research in Occupational, Transport and Environmental COVID Transmission National Core Study (PROTECT NCS). Six National Core Studies (NCS) have been funded through the Government Office for Science to respond to the near term strategic, policy and operational needs of the UK in response to Covid-19.The studies will also inform the country’s long-term resilience to Covid-19.

IOM is involved with the theme on Transmission and Environment, led by Professor Andrew Curran of the HSE, IOM made significant contributions to research within Themes 2 – Transmission Modelling and Theme 3 – Sector specific studies with further details of specific studies provided here. We will be working on evaluating the risk factors for Covid-19 in workplaces, particularly those that are at high risk for outbreaks. Please see the Transmission and Environment webpage for more information on this theme.

Our scientific papers…

• Cherrie JW, Loh M, Aitken RJ. (2020) Protecting healthcare workers from inhaled SARS-CoV-2 virus. Occupational Medicine (Oxford, England).
• Semple S, Cherrie JW. (2020) Covid-19: Protecting Worker Health. Ann Work Expo Health.
• Cherrie M, Clemens T, Colandrea C, Feng Z, Webb D, Dibben C, Weller RB. (2020) Ultraviolet A Radiation and COVID-19 Deaths in the USA with replication studies in England and Italy.
• Coleman A, Canham R, Clabon K, Hosseini P, Johnson S, and Martie van Tongeren (2023). A deep dive into selected work sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic and the ‘living with COVID’ phase: understanding similarities and differences in practice, perceptions, and preparedness. .