title: Survival of influenza virus on banknotes.
abstract: Successful control of a viral disease requires knowledge of the different vectors that could promote its transmission among hosts. We assessed the survival of human influenza viruses on banknotes given that billions of these notes are exchanged daily worldwide. Banknotes were experimentally contaminated with representative influenza virus subtypes at various concentrations, and survival was tested after different time periods. Influenza A viruses tested by cell culture survived up to 3 days when they were inoculated at high concentrations. The same inoculum in the presence of respiratory mucus showed a striking increase in survival time (up to 17 days). Similarly, B/Hong Kong/335/2001 virus was still infectious after 1 day when it was mixed with respiratory mucus. When nasopharyngeal secretions of naturally infected children were used, influenza virus survived for at least 48 h in one-third of the cases. The unexpected stability of influenza virus in this nonbiological environment suggests that unusual environmental contamination should be considered in the setting of pandemic preparedness.
authors: Central Laboratory of Virology, Division of Infectious Diseases, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. yves.thomas@hcuge.ch
authors: Yves
authors: Y
authors: Thomas
authors: Guido
authors: G
authors: Vogel
authors: Werner
authors: W
authors: Wunderli
authors: Patricia
authors: P
authors: Suter
authors: Mark
authors: M
authors: Witschi
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Koch
authors: Caroline
authors: C
authors: Tapparel
authors: Laurent
authors: L
authors: Kaiser
mesh_terms: D003890:Desiccation; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D053118:Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype / Q000502:physiology*; D053122:Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype / Q000502:physiology*; D009981:Influenza B virus / Q000502:physiology*; D050296:Microbial Viability; D009093:Mucus / Q000821:virology; D010209:Paper; D013997:Time Factors; D014776:Virus Cultivation