Fan alert: Vuvuzela a health risk

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Vuvuzelas, the horns used by football fans during matches not only produce large amounts of noise but may also spread airborne diseases, say experts.

The horns which rose to stardom during the 2010 world cup in South Africa, have gained popularity the world over with Kenyans among its biggest fans. The horn is very popular among Kenyan Premier league club Gor Mahia fans.

Despite its obvious popularity it has now been revealed that the instrument can cause disease. It has been discovered that a short burst on the instrument creates a spittle shower similar to a sneeze, travelling at a four million droplets a second; a study shows.

In crowded venues, one person blowing a vuvuzela could infect many others with airborne illness like the flu or TB.

Banned

The instrument was seen as a noise maker by most participants at the 2010 FIFA world cup, but fervent complaints to stop its use were ignored by the organisers. It has been banned at many European football grounds. Organisers of the 2012 London Olympic games are considering whether to allow them.

Critics say they are anti-social and unsafe because of their potential to generate a din louder than a plane taking of. People with infections must be advised against blowing their vuvuzelas close to other people.

Dr Ruth McNerney, who carried out the latest work at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said a vuvuzela blowing etiquette may be needed rather than a ban.

-Just as with coughs or sneezes, action should be taken to prevent disease transmission, and people with infections must be advised against blowing their vuvuzelas close to other people, she told the BBC.

Shout aloud

Her team investigated the vuvuzela hazard using a laser device to measure how many droplets were produced by eight volunteers using the horns.

On average, 658,000 lung particles, or aerosols, per litre of air were expelled from the instruments.

The droplets shot into the air at the rate of four million per second.

In comparison, when the volunteers were asked to shout, they produced only 3,700 particles per litre at a rate of 7,000 per second.

-When attending a sporting event and surrounded by vuvuzela players, a spectator could expect to inhale large numbers of respiratory aerosols over the course of the event, Dr McNerney warned.

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