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Updated: Dec 7, 2025
Reverse Genetics Mediated Recovery of Infectious Murine Norovirus
Published on: June 24, 2012
Aerosolization and recovery of viable murine norovirus in an experimental setup
Malin Alsved1, Anders Widell2, Henrik Dahlin1
1Ergonomics and Aerosol Technology, Design Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Abstract:
Noroviruses are the major cause for viral acute gastroenteritis in the world. Despite the existing infection prevention strategies in hospitals, the disease continues to spread and causes extensive and numerous outbreaks. Hence, there is a need to investigate the possibility of airborne transmission of norovirus. In this study, we developed an experimental setup for studies on the infectivity of aerosolized murine norovirus (MNV), a model for the human norovirus. Two aerosol generation principles were evaluated: bubble bursting, a common natural aerosolization mechanism, and nebulization, a common aerosolization technique in laboratory studies. The aerosolization setup was characterized by physical and viral dilution factors, generated aerosol particle size distributions, and the viral infectivity after aerosolization. We found a lower physical dilution factor when using the nebulization generator than with the bubble bursting generator. The viral dilution factor of the system was higher than the physical dilution; however, when comparing the physical and viral dilution factors, bubble bursting generation was more efficient. The infectivity per virus was similar using either generation principle, suggesting that the generation itself had a minor impact on MNV infectivity and that instead, the effect of drying in air could be a major reason for infectivity losses.
Insights
Airborne transmission of norovirus, a leading cause of gastroenteritis, was investigated. Researchers found that while aerosol generation methods impact dilution, drying in air, not the generation process itself, significantly reduces norovirus infectivity.
Area of Science:
- Environmental microbiology
- Virology
- Public health
Background:
- Noroviruses are a primary cause of viral acute gastroenteritis globally.
- Despite current hospital infection control, norovirus outbreaks persist, necessitating research into transmission routes.
- Airborne transmission of norovirus requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an experimental setup for studying the infectivity of aerosolized murine norovirus (MNV), a human norovirus model.
- To evaluate two aerosol generation methods: bubble bursting and nebulization.
- To characterize the aerosolization setup and assess viral infectivity post-aerosolization.
Main Methods:
- Developed an experimental setup to aerosolize murine norovirus (MNV).
- Evaluated bubble bursting and nebulization as aerosol generation principles.
- Characterized the setup by measuring physical and viral dilution factors and aerosol particle size distributions.
- Assessed MNV infectivity after aerosolization.
Main Results:
- Nebulization resulted in a lower physical dilution factor compared to bubble bursting.
- The viral dilution factor exceeded the physical dilution factor for both methods.
- Bubble bursting was more efficient in terms of physical versus viral dilution.
- MNV infectivity per virus remained similar across both generation methods.
Conclusions:
- Aerosol generation method has a minor impact on MNV infectivity.
- Drying in air appears to be a significant factor contributing to infectivity loss.
- Further research into airborne norovirus transmission is warranted.
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