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Influenza Virus Infectivity Is Retained in Aerosols and Droplets Independent of Relative Humidity

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  • Influenza Virus Infectivity Is Retained in Aerosols and Droplets Independent of Relative Humidity

    J Infect Dis. 2018 Jun 7. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiy221. [Epub ahead of print]
    Influenza Virus Infectivity Is Retained in Aerosols and Droplets Independent of Relative Humidity.

    Kormuth KA1, Lin K2, Prussin AJ 2nd2, Vejerano EP3, Tiwari AJ2, Cox SS2, Myerburg MM4, Lakdawala SS1, Marr LC2.
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    Abstract

    Pandemic and seasonal influenza viruses can be transmitted through aerosols and droplets, in which viruses must remain stable and infectious across a wide range of environmental conditions. Using humidity-controlled chambers, we studied the impact of relative humidity on the stability of 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) virus in suspended aerosols and stationary droplets. Contrary to the prevailing paradigm that humidity modulates the stability of respiratory viruses in aerosols, we found that viruses supplemented with material from the apical surface of differentiated primary human airway epithelial cells remained equally infectious for 1 hour at all relative humidities tested. This sustained infectivity was observed in both fine aerosols and stationary droplets. Our data suggest, for the first time, that influenza viruses remain highly stable and infectious in aerosols across a wide range of relative humidities. These results have significant implications for understanding the mechanisms of transmission of influenza and its seasonality.


    PMID: 29878137 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiy221
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