Lack of respiratory droplet transmission of two recent human influenza A(H5N1) viruses in female ferrets
International Journal of Infectious Diseases·
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.ijid.2026.108514
- PMID
- 41786120
- PMCID
- PMC13093984
- OpenAlex
- W7133302612
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The findings support continued evaluation of emerging H5N1 viruses because transmission characteristics may vary among viruses in this clade. The abstract links this work to risk assessment of pandemic potential but does not provide clinical guidance or population-level estimates.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study examined whether two recent human clade 2.3.4.4b HPAI H5N1 viruses could spread between ferrets through respiratory droplets.
Study design
An experimental transmission study evaluated two H5N1 virus isolates in a ferret model, including assessment of disease severity, lethality, virus distribution, and respiratory-droplet spread.
Population and setting
The experiments used female ferrets and two recent human clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 isolates: a B3.13 virus from Michigan and a D1.1 virus from British Columbia.
Main findings
The Michigan isolate produced severe disease, some deaths, and infection beyond the respiratory tract, but did not spread through respiratory droplets. The British Columbia isolate caused milder disease without deaths and also did not show respiratory-droplet transmission. The authors report that respiratory-droplet transmissibility differed across clade 2.3.4.4b viruses when considered with other reports.
Public-health relevance
The findings support continued evaluation of emerging H5N1 viruses because transmission characteristics may vary among viruses in this clade. The abstract links this work to risk assessment of pandemic potential but does not provide clinical guidance or population-level estimates.
Important limitations
The evidence comes from two virus isolates tested in a female-ferret model, so the supplied abstract does not establish how the findings apply beyond these experimental conditions. This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata; the original paper is required for decision-grade interpretation.
GIDS interpretation
The article is discoverable in the context of H5N1, influenza, and transmission dynamics. It provides experimental evidence about respiratory-droplet transmission in ferrets and does not, by itself, establish or confirm a live surveillance signal.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 7 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.