AUTHOR=Zhang Cheng , Guo Kangkang , Cui Huan , Chen Ligong , Zhang Chunmao , Wang Xuejing , Li Jiaming , Fu Yingying , Wang Zhongyi , Guo Zhendong , Liu Juxiang , Dong Shishan 

TITLE=Risk of Environmental Exposure to H7N9 Influenza Virus via Airborne and Surface Routes in a Live Poultry Market in Hebei, China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2021.688007

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2021.688007

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=Environmental transmission of virus to human beings has become an emergency warning of potential epidemic outbreak, such as SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus. Recently, a H7N9 virus, A/environment/Hebei/621/2019(H7N9), was isolated by environmental swabs from a live poultry market in Hebei, China. We found that it could transmit by direct contact and aerosol in mammals. More importantly, after 5 times passages in mice, it showed two adaptive mutations, PB1-H115Q and B2-E627K, exhibiting an increased virulence and aerosol transmissibility. Those results suggested that this H7N9 virus might potentially transmit between human beings through environmental or airborne routes.