Effectiveness of Classroom HEPA Air Cleaners in Reducing Viral Infections Among Elementary Students, Teachers, and Their Families

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating the use of high efficiency particulate air HEPA cleaners in elementary school classrooms to see if they can reduce exposure to respiratory viruses and infections among students, teachers, and their family members. This randomized clinical trial aims to answer whether active classroom HEPA cleaners can lower virus presence and symptomatic infections compared to sham inactive HEPA cleaners. Classrooms will be randomly assigned to have either active HEPA cleaners or sham devices placed throughout the school year. The active cleaners are commercially available portable HEPA units, while the sham cleaners are similar devices with their filtration components removed. Both types will be used continuously during the school year in the study classrooms. Participants include students, teachers, and household members from the enrolled classrooms. Researchers will collect air samples from classrooms over time, nasal samples from participants, and symptom surveys using the Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey. Viral testing will be done with digital polymerase chain reaction dPCR to detect viral pathogens. The main outcome measured is viral presence in upper respiratory samples after one year, along with secondary outcomes such as symptomatic infections and severity, missed school or work days, and healthcare visits. The study involves monitoring for one full year.

School Inner City Air Study