Survival of two avian respiratory viruses on porous and nonporous surfaces.

The transmission of pathogens from infected to susceptible hosts may occur through contaminated fomites and inanimate objects. This type of transmission depends on the ability of the pathogens to survive in the environment. In this report, we describe the survivability of two avian respiratory viruses, e.g., avian metapneumovirus and avian influenza virus on 12 different porous and nonporous surfaces. The viruses survived on some of the surfaces for up to 6 days postcontamination but not after 9 days. Both viruses survived longer on nonporous surfaces than on porous ones. One of the reasons for poor survival on porous surfaces could be inefficient elution of virus from these surfaces. These results should be helpful in determining how long the premises should be left vacant after an outbreak of these viruses has occurred in poultry houses.