Hawks, Seth A.Prussin, Aaron J. IIKuchinsky, Sarah C.Pan, JinMarr, Linsey C.Duggal, Nisha K.2021-10-222021-10-222021-10-19http://hdl.handle.net/10919/105633Respiratory viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 are transmitted in respiratory droplets and aerosol particles, which are released during talking, breathing, coughing, and sneezing. Noncontact transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has been demonstrated, suggesting transmission via virus carried through the air. Here, we demonstrate that golden Syrian hamsters produce infectious SARS-CoV-2 in aerosol particles prior to and concurrent with the onset of mild clinical signs of disease. The average emission rate in this study was 25 infectious virions/hour on days 1 and 2 postinoculation, with average viral RNA levels 200-fold higher than infectious virus in aerosol particles. The majority of virus was contained within particles <5 μm in size. Thus, we provide direct evidence that, in hamsters, SARS-CoV-2 is an airborne virus.application/pdfenCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 Internationalanimal modelscoronavirustransmissionArticle - Refereedhttps://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.02527-21125