Can the H1N1 virus live on inanimate objects? If someone with H1N1 touches a doorknob, then I touch it, could I get swine flu?
Flu viruses can live on inanimate surfaces. So theoretically, you could get H1N1 from touching a doorknob that was just touched by an infected person. However, that’s pretty unlikely, according to Dr. Arthur Reingold, head of epidemiology in the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. “I personally would not have a major fear of environmental contamination,” he said. “Virtually all influenza is transmitted from sneezing and coughing.” Schaffner agrees, adding that flu viruses don’t survive in large numbers on surfaces. “A doorknob isn’t a warm, nourishing environment for a virus,” he said.
