Detection of Airborne Influenza A and SARS-CoV-2 Virus Shedding following Ocular Inoculation of Ferrets

Abstract

Documented human infection with influenza viruses and SARS-CoV-2 has been reported among individuals wearing respiratory protection in the absence of eye protection, highlighting the capacity of these respiratory tract-tropic viruses to exploit nonrespiratory routes of exposure to initiate productive infection. However, comprehensive evaluations of how ocular exposure may modulate virus pathogenicity and transmissibility in mammals relative to respiratory exposure are limited and have not investigated multiple virus families side by side.