# Probability of coronavirus spreading if exposed in different ways **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [March 15, 2020, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probability-of-coronavirus-spreading-if-exposed-in-different-ways/849545 "2020-03-15T20:47:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probability-of-coronavirus-spreading-if-exposed-in-different-ways/849545/1 "2020-03-15T20:47:29Z")
If someone positive for coronavirus coughs directly on you, and you inhale, it it virtually guaranteed that that it will spread to you? What about something even more intimate, like a an open-mouth kiss? I assume that the probability of the latter is far more than the former, but is it 100%? How about someone with the virus coughs into their hand, grabs a doorknob, and then another person grabs it and touches their own face? I assume much lower, but is there any estimate on the probability? Can we estimates based on data on the spread of other viruses, or is this one completely independent of the others? ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probability-of-coronavirus-spreading-if-exposed-in-different-ways/849545/2 "2020-03-15T21:08:37Z")
AIUI this virus primarily spreads through the air. Coughing pushes viruses into the surrounding area and if you happen to inhale any of those particles you may get infected with the virus. If someone who is infected licks a piece of food, hands it to you and you eat it I think you are a lot less likely to be infected than if they sneeze or cough on you. ---
**Author:** ![Saturn\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probability-of-coronavirus-spreading-if-exposed-in-different-ways/849545/3 "2020-03-16T00:44:30Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > AIUI this virus primarily spreads through the air. Coughing pushes viruses into the surrounding area and if you happen to inhale any of those particles you may get infected with the virus. This is a bit misleading. Droplets of saliva containing the virus from a sneeze or cough can travel through the air but the virus itself is not floating around in the atomosphere. Once the droplets fall to the ground or another surface, so does the virus. > [@](#): > > If someone who is infected licks a piece of food, hands it to you and you eat it I think you are a lot less likely to be infected than if they sneeze or cough on you. Uh, what makes you this? I don’t profess to know the number of viruses contained in a cough/sneeze versus a lick but they are equally as dangerous in terms of method of infection. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probability-of-coronavirus-spreading-if-exposed-in-different-ways/849545/4 "2020-03-16T03:28:03Z")
> [@Saturn\_Dreams](#): > > This is a bit misleading. Droplets of saliva containing the virus from a sneeze or cough can travel through the air but the virus itself is not floating around in the atomosphere. Once the droplets fall to the ground or another surface, so does the virus. > Uh, what makes you this? I don’t profess to know the number of viruses contained in a cough/sneeze versus a lick but they are equally as dangerous in terms of method of infection. You are correct about the droplets, but the droplets are in the air when they are inhaled which is the most common form of transmission as I understand it. I got the second part from a doctor/expert on TV who said that you don’t get COVID-19 from ingesting the virus but from inhaling it into your lungs. So eating food covered with the virus isn’t as dangerous as inhaling it according to him. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probability-of-coronavirus-spreading-if-exposed-in-different-ways/849545/5 "2020-03-16T03:39:41Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > You are correct about the droplets, but the droplets are in the air when they are inhaled which is the most common form of transmission as I understand it. My understanding is specifically not that, and that the most common mode of transmission is from your own hands, carried to your face – simply because in most situations you are more likely to encounter a contaminated surface and touch it than you are to get it passed directly from the air. ---
**Author:** ![Saturn\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probability-of-coronavirus-spreading-if-exposed-in-different-ways/849545/6 "2020-03-16T05:01:54Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > You are correct about the droplets, but the droplets are in the air when they are inhaled which is the most common form of transmission as I understand it. > > I got the second part from a doctor/expert on TV who said that you don’t get COVID-19 from ingesting the virus but from inhaling it into your lungs. So eating food covered with the virus isn’t as dangerous as inhaling it according to him. Droplets do not need to be inhaled; just find a way into your mucous via the eyes, nose and/or mouth. The very process of eating something means it makes contact with your mouth and saliva and is a very good way to get infected. It might not be as dangerous as inhaling it but that’s like saying snorting cocaine isn’t as dangerous as injecting it. Maybe not, but the chances of both fucking you up is pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Frankenstein\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ccd318/32.png) [@Frankenstein\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frankenstein_Monster)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probability-of-coronavirus-spreading-if-exposed-in-different-ways/849545/7 "2020-03-16T12:31:35Z")
[CDC says:](https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/spread.htm) (about influenza virus transmission. I don’t think there’s validated scientific data on 2019 Coronavirus transmission yet) > [@CDC](#): > > **Most experts think** that flu viruses spread mainly by droplets made when people with flu cough, sneeze or talk. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs. **Less often** , a person might get flu by touching a surface or object that has flu virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes. They don’t give a scientific source as far as I can see. I found this scientific publication from 2013 about [Routes of influenza transmission](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5909391/), the very first sentences are > [@article](#): > > Remarkably little is known definitively about the modes of influenza transmission. Thus, important health policy and infection control issues remain unresolved. These shortcomings have been exposed in national and international pandemic preparedness activities… I think I’m gonna read that article soon. ---
**Author:** ![Frankenstein\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ccd318/32.png) [@Frankenstein\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frankenstein_Monster)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probability-of-coronavirus-spreading-if-exposed-in-different-ways/849545/8 "2020-03-16T12:58:59Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > What about something even more intimate, like a an open-mouth kiss? I assume that the probability of the latter is far more than the former, but is it 100%? Although this is about the cold virus, research finds that virus spreads though mucus (cough, neeeze) but not saliva (kissing). [It’s OK, you can kiss me](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2005/feb/15/health.medicineandhealth2) > [@article](#): > > Take snogging. You would have thought that French kissing a snotty lover was a bad idea on many levels. But contrary to widespread belief, it is very hard to catch a cold by exchanging saliva. In 1984, researchers had the unenviable job of observing hundreds of students snogging. Kissing, they concluded, resulted in no transmission of the cold virus. “The virus travels in the mucus from the respiratory system,” explains Professor Ron Eccles… ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2020, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probability-of-coronavirus-spreading-if-exposed-in-different-ways/849545/9 "2020-03-16T17:03:12Z")
Wrong. I believed the coughing/sneezing/touching face stuff, too. Turns out simply breathing can transmit the virus, according to Dr. Michael Osterholm, one of the leading experts on infectious disease and public health in the US. ([Check out his credentials.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Osterholm)) > [@](#): > > The primary mechanism for transmission is just the respiratory process, just breathing. It is, he says, “Very, very infectious through the air.” > [@](#): > > If I’m sitting in a room with 100 other people, and we’re sharing air, the transmission is remarkable. I highly recommend watching the Joe Rogan[interview](https://kson.radio.com/blogs/amber/joe-rogans-interview-with-michael-osterholm). It’s very informative. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/probability-of-coronavirus-spreading-if-exposed-in-different-ways/849545/10 "2020-03-18T00:39:11Z")
Is merely touching your face a risk? I assume it’s only an issue if you touch your mouth, nose or eyes. It’s not like the virus can crawl or anything. Assuming I’m not sweating or something.