tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Environ Sci Technol
. 2026 Aug 18;60(32):22737-22747.
doi: 10.1021/acs.est.6c01632.
Integrated Simulation for Identifying the Key Driver of Strain-Specific Airborne Infectivity of Influenza Viruses
Chunguang Yang[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Tianchi Luo[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yanpei Li[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Zhuo Chen[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Zhengshi Lin[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Fengxue Zhang[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Yang Wang[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Weiqi Pan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jingwei Liu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Changyuan Kang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Nan Ma[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Jun Yang[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Wenlu Wang[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Zifeng Yang[SUP] 1 2 6 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Airborne transmission plays a central role in the spread of seasonal influenza; however, the determinants governing strain-specific airborne infectivity remain poorly understood. Here, we integrated exposure-infection assays with controlled bioaerosol chamber experiments to quantitatively resolve differences between influenza A and B viruses across aerosolization and aging processes. By coupling these measurements with an effective inhaled dose model, we enabled strain-resolved comparisons of exposure potential as a function of host age and activity level. Our results show that strain-dependent differences in aerosolization efficiency, hygroscopic behavior, virion morphology, and physical stability cannot fully account for variations in airborne infectivity. Instead, biological inactivation during aerosol aging emerges as a key factor governing the loss of infectivity in airborne particles. Accordingly, A/H3N2 maintains higher aerosol-phase infectivity across size ranges, whereas influenza B strains display more rapid loss of infectivity. Collectively, these findings identify aerosol-phase biological stability as a primary determinant of strain-specific airborne infectivity and provide a quantitative framework for assessing the aerosol exposure potential of emerging influenza variants and informing indoor respiratory health interventions.
Keywords: aerosol biological stability; airborne transmission; effective inhaled dose; influenza virus; strain-specific infectivity.
. 2026 Aug 18;60(32):22737-22747.
doi: 10.1021/acs.est.6c01632.
Integrated Simulation for Identifying the Key Driver of Strain-Specific Airborne Infectivity of Influenza Viruses
Chunguang Yang[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Tianchi Luo[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Yanpei Li[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Zhuo Chen[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Zhengshi Lin[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Fengxue Zhang[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Yang Wang[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Weiqi Pan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Jingwei Liu[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Changyuan Kang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Nan Ma[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Jun Yang[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Wenlu Wang[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Zifeng Yang[SUP] 1 2 6 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 42611450
- DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6c01632
Airborne transmission plays a central role in the spread of seasonal influenza; however, the determinants governing strain-specific airborne infectivity remain poorly understood. Here, we integrated exposure-infection assays with controlled bioaerosol chamber experiments to quantitatively resolve differences between influenza A and B viruses across aerosolization and aging processes. By coupling these measurements with an effective inhaled dose model, we enabled strain-resolved comparisons of exposure potential as a function of host age and activity level. Our results show that strain-dependent differences in aerosolization efficiency, hygroscopic behavior, virion morphology, and physical stability cannot fully account for variations in airborne infectivity. Instead, biological inactivation during aerosol aging emerges as a key factor governing the loss of infectivity in airborne particles. Accordingly, A/H3N2 maintains higher aerosol-phase infectivity across size ranges, whereas influenza B strains display more rapid loss of infectivity. Collectively, these findings identify aerosol-phase biological stability as a primary determinant of strain-specific airborne infectivity and provide a quantitative framework for assessing the aerosol exposure potential of emerging influenza variants and informing indoor respiratory health interventions.
Keywords: aerosol biological stability; airborne transmission; effective inhaled dose; influenza virus; strain-specific infectivity.