Loss of Infectivity of Influenza Virus and SARS-CoV-2 during Aerosol Sampling

Jin Pan; Nisha K. Duggal; Seema S. Lakdawala; Meher Sethi; Nahara Vargas-Maldonado; Vedhika Raghunathan; Anice C. Lowen; Linsey C. Marr

doi:10.1021/acs.estlett.6c00020

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Loss of Infectivity of Influenza Virus and SARS-CoV-2 during Aerosol Sampling

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Loss of Infectivity of Influenza Virus and SARS-CoV-2 during Aerosol Sampling

Jin Pan, Nisha K. Duggal, Seema S. Lakdawala, Meher Sethi, Nahara Vargas-Maldonado, Vedhika Raghunathan, Anice C. Lowen and Linsey C. Marr

Environmental science & technology letters

02/13/2026

DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.6c00020

PMCID: PMC12980836

PMID: 41837258

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https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.6c00020View

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Abstract

Our understanding of transmission of influenza virus and other respiratory viruses is limited by the difficulty of detecting infectious viruses in aerosol particles. Most aerosol sampling methods are believed to contribute to virus inactivation, but the magnitude of this sampling artifact is unknown. To investigate this question, we aerosolized influenza A virus (IAV) and SARS-CoV-2 suspended in human saliva into a small chamber (3.7 L). Aerosols settled for 10 min onto either cells or a thin layer of liquid medium that was immediately transferred to cells for plaque assay. Aerosols that deposited directly onto cells led to the formation of 100 & times; more plaque forming units (PFU) compared to aerosols that deposited first into liquid medium. Further experiments ruled out uneven aerosol distribution in the chamber or inefficient virus recovery as causes of this discrepancy. These findings indicate that aerosolized IAV and SARS-CoV-2 lost infectivity by approximately 2 log10 PFU within similar to 10 min unless they attached to cells quickly. As natural infection via inhalation occurs by direct deposition of the virus onto cells, we hypothesize that sampling directly onto cells more accurately reflects the potential for exposure to lead to infection.

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Engineering, Environmental

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Environmental Sciences & Ecology

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Details

Title: Subtitle: Loss of Infectivity of Influenza Virus and SARS-CoV-2 during Aerosol Sampling
Creators: Jin Pan - University of Iowa
Nisha K. Duggal - Virginia–Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
Seema S. Lakdawala - Emory University
Meher Sethi - Emory University
Nahara Vargas-Maldonado - Emory University
Vedhika Raghunathan - Emory University
Anice C. Lowen - Emory University
Linsey C. Marr - Virginia Tech
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Environmental science & technology letters
DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.6c00020
PMID: 41837258
PMCID: PMC12980836
ISSN: 2328-8930
eISSN: 2328-8930
Publisher: Amer Chemical Soc
Number of pages: 6
Grant note: NA / Flu Lab P30 ES005605 / National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Language: English
Electronic publication date: 02/13/2026
Academic Unit: Occupational and Environmental Health
Record Identifier: 9985141955902771

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