Higher Viral Stability and Ethanol Resistance of Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus on Human Skin

Abstract

Evaluating the stability of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses on human skin and measuring the effectiveness of disinfectants are crucial for preventing contact disease transmission. We constructed an evaluation model using autopsy skin samples and evaluated factors that affect the stability and disinfectant effectiveness for various subtypes. The survival time of the avian influenza A(H5N1) virus on plastic surfaces was ≈26 hours and on skin surfaces ≈4.5 hours, >2.5-fold longer than other subtypes. The effectiveness of a relatively low ethanol concentration (32%–36% wt/wt) against the H5N1 subtype was substantially reduced compared with other subtypes. Moreover, recombinant viruses with the neuraminidase gene of H5N1 survived longer on plastic and skin surfaces than other recombinant viruses and were resistant to ethanol. Our results imply that the H5N1 subtype poses a higher contact transmission risk because of its higher stability and ethanol resistance, which might depend on the neuraminidase protein.

Avian Influenza Virus Characteristics, Epidemiology, and Pathogenesis in Poultry in Egypt

“…The survival time for H5N1 is approximately 26 hours on plastic surfaces and about 4.5 hours on human skin surfaces. In contrast, subtypes H5N3, H5N9, and H7N9 are rendered inactive on plastic surfaces within 10 hours and within 1.5 hours on human skin (Bandou et al, 2022).…”