Terrifying video shows exactly how coughing on a plane can propel coronavirus through the cabin

A TERRIFYING video shows exactly how coughing on an airplane can propel coronavirus through the whole cabin.

If someone on the plane is infected, it's not just those sitting nearby - but all the passengers who can get sick.

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Purdue University in Indiana created a simulation of how virus pathogens travel much further than expected.

It shows how tiny saliva droplets from one cough turn propel germs throughout the plane.

The ten people sitting closest to the infected person are most at risk because of their proximity.

But some germs can reach everyone on the plane, scientists warned.

The simulation is based on airborne viruses which linger in the air, and scientists aren't yet sure if SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes Covid-19, fits this category.

It was initially modelled on a virus like SARS.

Scientists made the simulation to study infectious disease transmission on planes to help inform optimal and safe ventilation systems.

Lead researcher Qingyan Chen and colleagues wrote: "Infectious diseases, such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and avian flu, can cause significant social and economic disruption.

"The model was based on the assumption that the 2003 SARS virus was an airborne disease.

"This means the germs from a person's breathe, sneeze or cough can linger in the air and travel because the droplets are very small in size."

The World Health Organisation has said Covid-19 is primarily transmitted through droplets of germs, which are much larger in size.

They travel short distances before falling to the floor which is why social distancing stops the spread.

But air conditioning like the ones on planes could help propel a virus around the room, particularly in confined spaces with no windows.

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One report in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) journal on April 2 looked at a cluster of cases in Guangzhou, China, which may have been fuelled by air conditioning.

Ten people in three families were diagnosed with the virus after eating at the same restaurant.

The researches said droplets from coughing and sneezing alone could not explain the spread of the virus.

Researcher Jianyun Lu and colleagues concluded that "droplet transmission was prompted by air-conditioned ventilation. The key factor for infection was the direction of the airflow."

Another study published on April 23 in the same journal looked at the "alarming" spread of coronavirus through an office.

Researchers in Seoul, South Korea found that 43 per cent of people in an office got sick if there was just one infected person working on the same floor.

Shin Young Park and authors wrote: "This outbreak shows alarmingly that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can be exceptionally contagious in crowded office settings such as a call center.

"The magnitude of the outbreak illustrates how a high-density work environment can become a high-risk site for the spread of COVID-19 and potentially a source of further transmission."

Both studies were released early and are not final versions.

The Government is looking closely at how offices can bring in social distancing measures that would allow people to go back to work and keep safe at the same time.