The primary objective of a hospital’s HVAC system is to create an environment where patients are at a reduced risk for infection during their stay. Airborne transmission of life threatening particles including molds, bacteria, viruses, and fungi can be introduced into the environment not only by the hospital’s other sick patients, but also by the built environment itself.
IAQ and infection transmission mitigation gained recognition in the early 1990s with the rise of tuberculosis (TB) incidents and sensitivity of bone marrow transplant patients to infection, and it has resulted in the ongoing evolution of guidelines, recommendations, and standards for the design, construction, and operation of hospital isolation rooms.