This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bouvier, N. M.
Right arrow Articles by Palese, P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Bouvier, N. M.
Right arrow Articles by Palese, P.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Virology, October 2008, p. 10052-10058, Vol. 82, No. 20
0022-538X/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.01226-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Oseltamivir-Resistant Influenza A Viruses Are Transmitted Efficiently among Guinea Pigs by Direct Contact but Not by Aerosol{triangledown}

Nicole M. Bouvier,1,2,3 Anice C. Lowen,3 and Peter Palese2,3*

Division of Infectious Diseases,1 Department of Medicine,2 Department of Microbiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York3

Received 12 June 2008/ Accepted 30 July 2008

Influenza viruses resistant to the neuraminidase (NA) inhibitor oseltamivir arise under drug selection pressure both in vitro and in vivo. Several mutations in the active site of the viral NA are known to confer relative resistance to oseltamivir, and influenza viruses with certain oseltamivir resistance mutations have been shown to transmit efficiently among cocaged ferrets. However, it is not known whether NA mutations alter aerosol transmission of drug-resistant influenza virus. Here, we demonstrate that recombinant human influenza A/H3N2 viruses without and with oseltamivir resistance mutations (in which NA carries the mutation E119V or the double mutations E119V I222V) have similar in ovo growth kinetics and infectivity in guinea pigs. These viruses also transmit efficiently by the contact route among cocaged guinea pigs, as in the ferret model. However, in an aerosol transmission model, in which guinea pigs are caged separately, the oseltamivir-resistant viruses transmit poorly or not at all; in contrast, the oseltamivir-sensitive virus transmits efficiently even in the absence of direct contact. The present results suggest that oseltamivir resistance mutations reduce aerosol transmission of influenza virus, which could have implications for public health measures taken in the event of an influenza pandemic.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology, Box 1124, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY 10029. Phone: (212) 241-7318. Fax: (212) 722-3634. E-mail: peter.palese{at}mssm.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 6 August 2008.

Journal of Virology, October 2008, p. 10052-10058, Vol. 82, No. 20
0022-538X/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.01226-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Tellier, R. (2009). Aerosol transmission of influenza A virus: a review of new studies. J R Soc Interface 6: S783-S790 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Laplante, J. M., Marshall, S. A., Shudt, M., Van, T. T., Reisdorf, E. S., Mingle, L. A., Shult, P. A., St. George, K. (2009). Influenza Antiviral Resistance Testing in New York and Wisconsin, 2006 to 2008: Methodology and Surveillance Data. J. Clin. Microbiol. 47: 1372-1378 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Lowen, A. C., Steel, J., Mubareka, S., Carnero, E., Garcia-Sastre, A., Palese, P. (2009). Blocking Interhost Transmission of Influenza Virus by Vaccination in the Guinea Pig Model. J. Virol. 83: 2803-2818 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»