# RNA viruses of pandemic potential: Viral Infectivity

> **NIH NIH P20** · UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT & ST AGRIC COLLEGE · 2021 · $75,618

## Abstract

RNA viruses are the cause of major current and future pandemics, with few antivirals and the potential to 
severely strain global healthcare systems. In the past year, severe acute respiratory syndrome 
coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), a positive strand RNA virus that is the causative agent of COVID-19, has 
caused acute disruption on a global scale. While the most recent influenza pandemic (2009) had a 
relatively low mortality rate, the emergence of a novel influenza strain with higher mortality would place 
the global healthcare system under immense pressure, and remains a constant threat. In the case of 
SARS-CoV-2 (and likely any future coronavirus or influenza pandemic), an unparalleled demand for viral 
diagnostic testing resulted in global shortages of many of the required reagents. RNA extraction in 
particular represents a choke point, not only due to shortages of the required reagents, but also due to the 
cost of the extraction process, the labor and time required to perform it. While recent Emergency Use 
Authorizations have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for commercial 
extraction-free diagnostic tests, these are proprietary systems; protocols that work with the open-source 
RT-qPCR assay developed by the WHO are needed. The goal of this study is to investigate factors that 
correlate with and/or influence viral infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza, using clinical samples and 
classical virology techniques to examine what makes the particular virus, or a particular patient, infectious. 
An extension of a previously funded pilot project aimed at developing a streamlined SARS-CoV-2 
diagnostic test, we will expand our examination to include clinical influenza samples. Additionally, we will 
probe a number of factors including sgRNA, negative strand RNA and SARS-CoV-2 RNA loads that 
considered together may be able predict the presence of infectious virus, and potentially differentiate 
those individuals who are simply PCR-positive from those who truly pose a risk of viral transmission. 
Since this work will generate a panel of clinical isolates for both SARS-CoV-2 and influenza with a range 
of infectivities, we will also investigate a variety of factors including RNA packaging, particle to PFU ratio, 
temperature stability, particle morphology and specific genetic mutations, all of which may affect viral 
infectivity at the molecular level.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10459223
- **Project number:** 5P20GM125498-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT & ST AGRIC COLLEGE
- **Principal Investigator:** Emily A. Bruce
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $75,618
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-15 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10459223

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10459223, RNA viruses of pandemic potential: Viral Infectivity (5P20GM125498-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10459223. Licensed CC0.

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