Influenza Aboard Dust Particles Infects Guinea Pigs
Published:27 Aug.2020 Source:The Scientist
A new study demonstrates that some viruses can be transmitted on airborne particles other than those produced by talking, coughing, or sneezing.
The current pandemic has shown how viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 can be shed while breathing, coughing, or sneezing, even when wearing a mask. Now, a new study using guinea pigs hints at an additional transmission mechanism: the animals spread influenza to their neighbors via airborne dust, dander, and fur, and the vast majority of airborne particulates emitted from the guinea pigs came not from their breath, but from dust they kicked up, the authors reported August 18 in Nature Communications. The experiments did not assess whether the coronavirus can be transmitted similarly.