Mucus as a virus barrier

COMBINE coordinator investigates risk factors for pandemic viruses in new project ONEMUC

Starting in March 2026, our coordinator Christian Sieben leads a new five-year initiative which is going to investigate how respiratory mucus acts as a critical barrier in the transmission of zoonotic influenza A viruses. By studying how mucus from different animal species interacts with viruses, the team aims to better assess the pandemic potential of emerging flu strains. A key objective is the development of a rapid test platform to evaluate how well influenza viruses are adapted to specific hosts and environmental conditions.

ONEMUC will strengthen the One Health approach and advance our understanding of virus transmission at the interface of humans, animals and the environment.

“When investigating the host tropism of a viral pathogen, i.e. which hosts can already be infected, the mucus barrier is often omitted. Our respiratory tract puts us in direct contact with our environment, which is also how pathogens can enter our bodies. Our goal is to study mucus as an interface in order to better assess risk factors for virus transmission to different species,” explains Sieben, head of the junior research group “Nano Infection Biology” at the HZI.

Learn more here.