title: The survival of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus on 4 household surfaces.
abstract: We investigated the survival of a pandemic strain of influenza A H1N1 on a variety of common household surfaces where multiple samples were taken from 4 types of common household fomite at 7 time points. Results showed that influenza A H1N1sw virus particles remained infectious for 48 hours on a wooden surface, for 24 hours on stainless steel and plastic surfaces, and for 8 hours on a cloth surface, although virus recovery from the cloth may have been suboptimal. Our results suggest that pandemic influenza A H1N1 can survive on common household fomites for extended periods of time, and that good hand hygiene and regular disinfection of commonly touched surfaces should be practiced during the influenza season to help reduce transmission.
authors.affiliation: Blizard Institute of Cell and Molecular Science, St Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: J.Oxford@retroscreen.com.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oxford
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Ciencias Medicas, Santa Casa, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Infectious Diseases Society, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Eitan N
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Berezin
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Patrice
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Courvalin
authors.affiliation: Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology and Institute for Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, Westmead Hospital and University of Sydney, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Dominic E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Dwyer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Exner
authors.affiliation: Practical Parenting Consulting, Omaha, NE.
authors.forename: Laura A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Jana
authors.affiliation: Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
authors.forename: Mitsuo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaku
authors.affiliation: Sungai Buloh Hospital, Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Africa Medical Association, Pretoria, South Africa; Tshepang Trust, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Kgosi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Letlape
authors.affiliation: Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Donald E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Low
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Tariq Ahmed
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Madani
authors.affiliation: Research & Development, Reckitt Benckiser, Montvale, NJ.
authors.forename: Joseph R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Rubino
authors.affiliation: Pushpanjali Crosslay Hospital, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Narendra
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Saini
authors.affiliation: University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Barry D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Schoub
authors.affiliation: Public Health Unit, University of Parma, Parma, Italy; Italian Society of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Signorelli
authors.affiliation: New York University Langone Medical Center and School of Medicine, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Philip M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Tierno
authors.affiliation: Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xuhui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhong
mesh_terms: D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D005191:Family Characteristics; D050456:Fomites / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D053118:Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology*; D050296:Microbial Viability; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Cleaning; Cloth; Handwashing; Home; Hygiene; Infection; Plastic; Stainless steel; Transmission; Wood