Abstract: In a collaboration with the University of Twente, Netherlands and the group of Detlef Lohse and Pallav Kant, we combine experiments and numerical computations to examine underlying fluid mechanical processes associated with bioaerosol generation during violent respiratory manoeuvres, such as coughing or sneezing. Analogous experiments performed in a cough machine allow us to illustrate the changes in film topology as it disintegrates into small droplets when sheared by air stream. We identify that aerosol generation during the shearing of liquid films is mediated by the formation of inflated bag-like structures. The breakup of these bags, triggered by the appearance of weak spots, giving rise to a droplet size distribution that is well captured by a log-normal distribution. We show that a balance between capillarity and viscosity decides the fate of these inflated structures, thus affecting the mean droplet size.