Association between influenza A viral shedding and infectivity in households

Household transmission studies can provide a wealth of information about influenza attack rates, the effectiveness of pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions, and viral loads over time following naturally-acquired infection. Few previous studies have collected detailed data on viral shedding, or been able to relate shedding to infectiousness. We used data from a household transmission study on viral shedding in index cases and subsequent infection of household contacts to infer how infectiousness relates to viral shedding.