Viral RNA and Infectious Influenza Virus on Mobile Phones of Patients With Influenza in Hong Kong and the United States
Abstract
Mobile phones are among the most highly touched personal objects. As part of a broader study on the contribution of fomites to influenza transmission, between 2017 and 2019, we swabbed mobile phones from 138 patients with influenza in 2 locations. Influenza viral RNA detection rates were 23% (23 of 99 phones) and 36% (14 of 39) in Hong Kong and Maryland, respectively. In Hong Kong, infectious influenza virus was recovered from 3 of 23 mobile phones which had influenza viral RNA detected. Mobile phone influenza contamination was positively associated with upper respiratory tract viral load and negatively associated with age. Cleaning personal objects of patients with influenza should be recommended, and individuals should avoid sharing objects with these patients.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Sep 17, 2021
- Source ID
- 10.1093/infdis/jiab464
Entities
People
- Benjamin J Cowling
- Daniel K W Chu
- Dennis K M Ip
- Donald K. Milton
- Filbert Hong
- Hiu-Lan Leung
- Jingyi Xiao
- Matthew B. Frieman
- Oluwasanmi Adenaiye
- P Jacob Bueno De Mesquita
- Sheldon Tai
Organizations
- Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority
- British Trust for Ornithology
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
- University of Hong Kong
- University of Maryland