Bibliographic information
GuidelineWHO guideline on public health and social measures for mitigating the risk and impact of epidemic and pandemic influenza
Year of Publication2026
Issuing InstitutionWorld Health Organization
Recommendation
New
WHO recommends increasing mechanical or natural ventilation in both households and nonresidential buildings to reduce the transmission of influenza viruses during influenza epidemics and pandemics.
Recommended in favor
Strong
Certainty of evidence
Low
Notes and Remarks
Optimal natural and mechanical ventilation requirements adapted to different indoor settings have been outlined by WHO (14). For example, the minimum recommended ventilation rate for non-residential buildings is 10 litres per second per person.
- Implementing proper ventilation systems requires specialist engineering knowledge and consideration of factors such as energy conservation, prevalence of vector-borne diseases and outdoor air pollution levels.
- Consideration should also be given to vulnerable populations (such as those living in crowded conditions) that do not have access to good ventilation.
- Increasing natural ventilation by opening the windows may be a valid approach in some settings with poor ventilation but not necessarily in buildings with adequate ventilation (201)