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Stability of Airborne Rhinovirus In Different Levels of Relative Humidity

Pourjam Alavijeh, Zhaleh LU ; Menzel, Mandy LU ; Liljenberg, Marcus LU ; Sasinovich, Sviataslau LU ; Medstrand, Patrik LU orcid ; Uller, Lena LU ; Alsved, Malin LU orcid and Peek, Kennedy (2026) 2nd Aerosols and Microbiology: Bridging disciplines to advance health & environmental sustainability p.24-24
Abstract
Introduction: Human rhinovirus (HRV) is the primary cause of acute respiratory infections, but research on the likely transmission pathway via aerosols remains limited. Here, we investigate how relative humidity (RH) influences rhinovirus infectivity in the aerosol phase, which is essential for developing effective mitigation strategies.
Method: Rhinovirus was aerosolized using a nebulizer into a flow tube with controlled humidity. Samples were collected after 8 s with a BioSpot, while particle size distributions were measured using an Aerodynamic Particle Sizer and a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer. Viral genome and infectivity were quantified using qPCR and most probable number (MPN) methods, respectively. Finally, infectivity was... (More)
Introduction: Human rhinovirus (HRV) is the primary cause of acute respiratory infections, but research on the likely transmission pathway via aerosols remains limited. Here, we investigate how relative humidity (RH) influences rhinovirus infectivity in the aerosol phase, which is essential for developing effective mitigation strategies.
Method: Rhinovirus was aerosolized using a nebulizer into a flow tube with controlled humidity. Samples were collected after 8 s with a BioSpot, while particle size distributions were measured using an Aerodynamic Particle Sizer and a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer. Viral genome and infectivity were quantified using qPCR and most probable number (MPN) methods, respectively. Finally, infectivity was normalized to viral gene concentration and total collected aerosol mass.
Results: Rhinovirus showed the highest infectivity at 10% RH (6 × 10⁻⁵ MPN/copy number), followed by 90% RH (1.41 × 10⁻⁵ MPN/copy number), and lowest at 30% RH (8.44 × 10⁻⁶ MPN/copy number). Normalizing infectivity to total collected aerosol mass followed a similar pattern, consistent with the assumption that viral genomes are generally correlated with aerosol mass. However, no significant differences across RH levels were observed for infectivity normalized by genome copy number (p = 0.10) or aerosol mass (p = 0.20). Within each RH group, aerosol concentration varied by ≤8% across 12 runs.
Conclusions: So far, no statistical difference was found at the different RH levels, but more replicates are about to be included in the analysis. In addition, a comparison with influenza A is ongoing, which may show differences in RH stability for non-enveloped and enveloped viruses.
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author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to conference
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Rhinovirus, bioaerosol, Airborne transmission, aerosol
pages
43 pages
conference name
2nd Aerosols and Microbiology: Bridging disciplines to advance health & environmental sustainability
conference location
Leeds, United Kingdom
conference dates
2026-06-09 - 2026-06-11
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
26e7e95c-d89b-465e-9802-0c479e7d20b8
date added to LUP
2026-06-15 12:15:37
date last changed
2026-08-13 13:15:52
@misc{26e7e95c-d89b-465e-9802-0c479e7d20b8,
  abstract     = {{Introduction: Human rhinovirus (HRV) is the primary cause of acute respiratory infections, but research on the likely transmission pathway via aerosols remains limited. Here, we investigate how relative humidity (RH) influences rhinovirus infectivity in the aerosol phase, which is essential for developing effective mitigation strategies.<br/>Method: Rhinovirus was aerosolized using a nebulizer into a flow tube with controlled humidity. Samples were collected after 8 s with a BioSpot, while particle size distributions were measured using an Aerodynamic Particle Sizer and a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer. Viral genome and infectivity were quantified using qPCR and most probable number (MPN) methods, respectively. Finally, infectivity was normalized to viral gene concentration and total collected aerosol mass.<br/>Results: Rhinovirus showed the highest infectivity at 10% RH (6 × 10⁻⁵ MPN/copy number), followed by 90% RH (1.41 × 10⁻⁵ MPN/copy number), and lowest at 30% RH (8.44 × 10⁻⁶ MPN/copy number). Normalizing infectivity to total collected aerosol mass followed a similar pattern, consistent with the assumption that viral genomes are generally correlated with aerosol mass. However, no significant differences across RH levels were observed for infectivity normalized by genome copy number (p = 0.10) or aerosol mass (p = 0.20). Within each RH group, aerosol concentration varied by ≤8% across 12 runs. <br/>Conclusions: So far, no statistical difference was found at the different RH levels, but more replicates are about to be included in the analysis. In addition, a comparison with influenza A is ongoing, which may show differences in RH stability for non-enveloped and enveloped viruses.<br/>}},
  author       = {{Pourjam Alavijeh, Zhaleh and Menzel, Mandy and Liljenberg, Marcus and Sasinovich, Sviataslau and Medstrand, Patrik and Uller, Lena and Alsved, Malin and Peek, Kennedy}},
  keywords     = {{Rhinovirus; bioaerosol; Airborne transmission; aerosol}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  pages        = {{24--24}},
  title        = {{Stability of Airborne Rhinovirus In Different Levels of Relative Humidity}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/253003243/2nd-Aerosols-and-Microbiology-Invited-and-offer-talks-abstract-booklet.pdf}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}