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International health experts have agreed on a new definition of what it means for a disease to spread “through the air.”

国际卫生专家就疾病“通过空气”传播的含义达成了新的定义。

The agreement came after the World Health Organization (WHO) cooperated with hundreds of international health experts to explain or clarify the meaning. The WHO said the technical document it issued was the first step towards finding better methods to prevent airborne disease spread.

该协议是在世界卫生组织（WHO）与数百名国际卫生专家合作解释或澄清其含义后达成的。 世界卫生组织表示，其发布的技术文件是寻找更好的方法来防止空气传播疾病传播的第一步。

The document says the term "through the air" can be used for infectious diseases in which the main spread involves a pathogen traveling through the air or being suspended in the air. The experts said this is similar to the official description of "waterborne" diseases.

该文件称，“通过空气”一词可用于主要传播涉及病原体通过空气传播或悬浮在空气中的传染病。 专家表示，这与官方对“水传播”疾病的描述类似。

The WHO’s new explanation is an effort to avoid public misunderstandings about how some diseases can be passed through the air or are “airborne.”

世界卫生组织的新解释是为了避免公众对某些疾病如何通过空气传播或“空气传播”产生误解。

Such misunderstandings happened during the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO was criticized by many scientists during the early days of COVID-19 in 2020. They accused the U.N. health agency of failing to warn the public early on that the virus could spread through the air.

此类误解在 COVID-19 大流行期间发生过。 2020 年 COVID-19 爆发初期，世界卫生组织受到许多科学家的批评。他们指责联合国卫生机构未能及早警告公众该病毒可能通过空气传播。

The scientists said this led to too much public guidance centered on handwashing and similar measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. They said this guidance ignored other measures, such as looking at the spread of viruses through ventilation systems.

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