Scientists in the U.S. have developed a device that mimics the path of vomit particles as they leave the mouth, betraying information that could clear the air about the spread of disease.
So far, the machine proves that viruses can be transferred during vomiting, particularly norovirus.
The machine enables researchers to control the volume, viscosity and pressure of simulated vomiting.
"Epidemiological evidence has pointed to virus aerosolization during vomiting as a likely route for spreading norovirus, and our work here confirms that it's not only possible but probable," says study co-author Lee-Ann Jaykus of North Carolina State University, director of the USDA-NIFA Food Virology Collaborative initiative (NoroCORE).
The paper about the machine was published in the journal PLOS One.
