Water-to-air transfer of virus.

Bubbles rising through suspensions of the bacteriophages T2 and T4 and of Escherichia coli adsorb and eject these particles in droplets that are formed when the bubbles burst. The concentration of the viruses in ejected droplets, determined from electron microscopy, exceeded the suspension concentration by 50 times. Similar results were obtained for Escherichia coli. The viability of some of the adsorbed particles was established by biological counts.