Environmental Stability of Enveloped Viruses Is Impacted by Initial Volume and Evaporation Kinetics of Droplets

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dc.contributor.authorFrench, Andrea J.en
dc.contributor.authorLongest, Alexandra K.en
dc.contributor.authorPan, Jinen
dc.contributor.authorVikesland, Peter J.en
dc.contributor.authorDuggal, Nisha K.en
dc.contributor.authorMarr, Linsey C.en
dc.contributor.authorLakdawala, Seema S.en
dc.date.accessioned2023-08-31T17:03:35Zen
dc.date.available2023-08-31T17:03:35Zen
dc.date.issued2023-04en
dc.description.abstractEfficient spread of respiratory viruses requires the virus to maintain infectivity in the environment. Environmental stability of viruses can be influenced by many factors, including temperature and humidity. Our study measured the impact of initial droplet volume (50, 5, and 1 mu L) and relative humidity (RH; 40%, 65%, and 85%) on the stability of influenza A virus, bacteriophage Phi6 (a common surrogate for enveloped viruses), and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) under a limited set of conditions. Our data suggest that the drying time required for the droplets to reach quasi-equilibrium (i.e., a plateau in mass) varied with RH and initial droplet volume. The macroscale physical characteristics of the droplets at quasi-equilibrium varied with RH but not with the initial droplet volume. Virus decay rates differed between the wet phase, while the droplets were still evaporating, and the dry phase. For Phi6, decay was faster in the wet phase than in the dry phase under most conditions. For H1N1pdm09, decay rates between the two phases were distinct and initial droplet volume had an effect on virus viability within 2 h. Importantly, we observed differences in virus decay characteristics by droplet size and virus. In general, influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2 decayed similarly, whereas Phi6 decayed more rapidly under certain conditions. Overall, this study suggests that virus decay in media is related to the extent of droplet evaporation, which is controlled by RH. Importantly, accurate assessment of transmission risk requires the use of physiologically relevant droplet volumes and careful consideration of the use of surrogates. IMPORTANCE During the COVID-19 pandemic, policy decisions were being driven by virus stability experiments with SARS-CoV-2 in different droplet volumes under various humidity conditions. Our study, the first of its kind, provides a model for the decay of multiple enveloped RNA viruses in cell culture medium deposited in 50-, 5-, and 1-mu L droplets at 40%, 65%, and 85% RH over time. The results of our study indicate that determination of half-lives for emerging pathogens in large droplets may overestimate transmission risk for contaminated surfaces, as observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study implicates the need for the use of physiologically relevant droplet sizes with use of relevant surrogates in addition to what is already known about the importance of physiologically relevant media for risk assessment of future emerging pathogens.en
dc.description.notesThis work was supported by the NIAID (CEIRS HHSN272201400007C, S.S.L. and L.C.M.), and in part with Federal funds from NIAID, NIH, and DHHS (75N93021C00015, S.S.L.). Additional funding was provided by Flu Lab (S.S.L. and L.C.M.), an ICTAS Junior Faculty Award (N.K.D.), and NIH NINDS R01NS124204 (N.K.D.). J.F. was supported by the University of Pittsburgh Training Program in Antimicrobial Resistance (T32AI138954).en
dc.description.sponsorshipNIAID [CEIRS HHSN272201400007C]; NIH; DHHS [75N93021C00015]; Flu Lab; ICTAS Junior Faculty Award; NIH NINDS [R01NS124204]; University of Pittsburgh Training Program in Antimicrobial Resistance [T32AI138954]en
dc.description.versionPublished versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.03452-22en
dc.identifier.issn2150-7511en
dc.identifier.pmid37036343en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/116176en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherAmerican Society for Microbiologyen
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.subjectinfluenzaen
dc.subjectSARS-CoV-2en
dc.subjectsurvivalen
dc.subjectstabilityen
dc.subjectpersistenceen
dc.subjectdropletsen
dc.subjectvolumeen
dc.subjectsizeen
dc.subjectdroplet volumeen
dc.subjectinfluenza virusen
dc.subjectvirus decayen
dc.subjectvirus stabilityen
dc.titleEnvironmental Stability of Enveloped Viruses Is Impacted by Initial Volume and Evaporation Kinetics of Dropletsen
dc.title.serialMbioen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten

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