Relative humidity differentially modulates decay of structurally distinct respiratory viruses in deposited human saliva particles
- 1Duke University
Abstract
Respiratory viruses pose a major threat to human health. Environmental virus persistence in respiratory secretions is essential for successful spread, yet studies have focused largely on a select few viruses in non-physiological matrices. Here, we compared the stability of structurally distinct human respiratory viruses, adenovirus, influenza virus, and rhinovirus, in deposited particles of pooled human saliva under indoor-relevant relative humidity (RH) conditions. Adenovirus exhibited <2.2-log10 decay over 6 h regardless of RH, while rhinovirus exhibited significantly greater degradation (>3.8-log10, at 50% and 80% RH). Influenza virus showed minimal decay at 20% and 50% RH but degraded significantly more (3-log10) at 80% RH. To distinguish aspects of human saliva that are key determinants in driving virus decay, we recapitulated saliva composition using the inorganic solute and protein concentrations determined via ion-coupled plasma mass spectrometry and proteomics, respectively. Rhinovirus was significantly more stable in simulated saliva than in human saliva at 50% RH, while influenza virus and adenovirus behaved similarly in both matrices. These findings emphasize virus-specific environmental persistence and highlight limitations of relying on a single virus and particle matrix for defining public health strategies. Ultimately, these insights will contribute to approaches for mitigating environmental transmission of distinct respiratory pathogens.
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BibTeX
@misc{olive2026relative,
title = {{Relative humidity differentially modulates decay of structurally distinct respiratory viruses in deposited human saliva particles}},
author = {M. Olive and Z. Broemmel and S. Knight and N. C. Rockey},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.23.753914},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.23.753914v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Relative humidity differentially modulates decay of structurally distinct respiratory viruses in deposited human saliva particles
AU - M. Olive
AU - Z. Broemmel
AU - S. Knight
AU - N. C. Rockey
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/23
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.23.753914
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.23.753914v1
AB - Respiratory viruses pose a major threat to human health. Environmental virus persistence in respiratory secretions is essential for successful spread, yet studies have focused largely on a select few viruses in non-physiological matrices. Here, we compared the stability of structurally distinct human respiratory viruses, adenovirus, influenza virus, and rhinovirus, in deposited particles of pooled human saliva under indoor-relevant relative humidity (RH) conditions. Adenovirus exhibited <2.2-log10 decay over 6 h regardless of RH, while rhinovirus exhibited significantly greater degradation (>3.8-log10, at 50% and 80% RH). Influenza virus showed minimal decay at 20% and 50% RH but degraded significantly more (3-log10) at 80% RH. To distinguish aspects of human saliva that are key determinants in driving virus decay, we recapitulated saliva composition using the inorganic solute and protein concentrations determined via ion-coupled plasma mass spectrometry and proteomics, respectively. Rhinovirus was significantly more stable in simulated saliva than in human saliva at 50% RH, while influenza virus and adenovirus behaved similarly in both matrices. These findings emphasize virus-specific environmental persistence and highlight limitations of relying on a single virus and particle matrix for defining public health strategies. Ultimately, these insights will contribute to approaches for mitigating environmental transmission of distinct respiratory pathogens.
ER -