An aggregated dataset of serially collected influenza A virus morbidity and titer measurements from virus-infected ferrets.
Use escrito dataset cdc.cr56-k9wj
Data from influenza A virus (IAV) infected ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) provides invaluable information towards the study of novel and emerging viruses that pose a threat to human health. This gold standard animal model can recapitulate many clinical signs of infection present in IAV-infected humans, support virus replication of human and zoonotic strains without prior adaptation, and permit evaluation of virus transmissibility by multiple modes. While ferrets have been employed in risk assessment settings for >20 years, results from this work are typically reported in discrete stand-alone publications, making aggregation of raw data from this work over time nearly impossible. Here, we describe a dataset of 851 ferrets inoculated with 135 unique IAV, conducted by a single research group (NCIRD/ID/IPB/Pathogenesis Laboratory Team) under a uniform experimental protocol. This collection of morbidity, mortality, and viral titer data represents the largest publicly available dataset to date of in vivo-generated IAV infection outcomes on a per-individual ferret level. Published Data Descriptor for more information: Kieran TJ, Sun X, Creager HM, Tumpey TM, Maines TR, Belser JA. 2024. An aggregated dataset of serial morbidity and titer measurements from influenza A virus-infected ferrets. Sci Data 11, 510. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03256-6 Additional publications using and describing data: Kieran TJ, Sun X, Maines TR, Beauchemin CAA, Belser JA. 2024. Exploring associations between viral titer measurements and disease outcomes in ferrets inoculated with 125 contemporary influenza A viruses. J Virol. 98:e01661-23. https://doi.org/10.1128/jvi.01661-23 Belser JA, Kieran TJ, Mitchell ZA, Sun X, Mayfield K, Tumpey TM, Spengler JR, Maines TR. 2024. Key considerations to improve the normalization, interpretation and reproducibility of morbidity data in mammalian models of viral disease. Dis Model Mech; 17 (3): dmm050511. https://doi.org/10.1242/dmm.050511 Kieran TJ, Sun X, Maines TR, Belser JA. 2024. Machine learning approaches for influenza A virus risk assessment identifies predictive correlates using ferret model in vivo data. Communications Biology 7, 927. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06629-0 Kieran TJ, Sun X, Maines TR, Belser JA. 2025. Predictive models of influenza A virus lethal disease: insights from ferret respiratory tract and brain tissues. Scientific Reports, 15, 24342. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-09154-0. Belser JA, Kieran TJ, Truelove MA, Daggett Jr G, Jean SM, Maines TR. 2026. Paired versus Single Housing of Ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) Does Not Influence Experimental Outcomes of Influenza A Virus Pathogenesis Studies. Journal of the American Association of Laboratory Animal Science, Feb 1:1-9 https://doi.org/10.30802/AALAS-JAALAS-25-191 Additional publications supporting responsible use and interpretation of data by others: Kieran TJ, Maine TR, Belser JA. 2025. Eleven quick tips to unlock the power of in vivo data science. PLoS Comput Biol, 21(4):e1012947. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012947 Kieran TJ, Maines TR, Belser JA. 2025. Data alchemy, from lab to insight: Transforming in vivo experiments into data science gold. PLoS Pathog, 20(8):e1012460. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1012460 Change / Update Log: Nov 7, 2024: Corrected typographical errors in Origin column for A/Ohio/13/2017 and A/Hawaii/28/2020 July 1, 2025: Added 3 viruses (A/Texas/36/1991, A/Texas/37/2024, A/Michigan/90/2024, total n=18 new rows) March 9, 2026: Added 6 viruses (A/Washington/239/2024, A/California/147/2024, A/Colorado/137/2024, A/British Columbia/PHL-2032/2024, A/Massachusetts/19/2022, A/Puerto Rico/8/1934, total n=105 rows)
Cite as: Influenza Division/Immunology and Pathogenesis Branch/Pathogenesis Laboratory Team. An aggregated dataset of serially collected influenza A virus morbidity and titer measurements from virus-infected ferrets.. https://data.cdc.gov/d/cr56-k9wj
- Publisher
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Tier
- Official
- Covers
- not stated
- Places
- United States
- Updated
- irregular
- Last modified
- 2026-03-09
- Units
- not stated
- License
- U.S. Government Work (public domain)
- Method
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03256-6
Columns
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| temp | number | Numerical column that specifies the maximum increase in degrees Celsius (normalized from preinoculation baseline temperature) recorded in the inoculated animal between days 1-14 p.i. (animals with no recorded rise in temperature are reflected as 0). |
| d1_inoc | number | Numerical columns reporting NW log10 titer/ml collected from the inoculated ferret, in the units specified in units. NA, no NW was collected that day (due to every-other-day sampling schedule, or because the ferret was euthanized due to reaching humane endpoints for the study). Day is identified in the d# format (i.e. d1 is day 1 titer). |
| d2_inoc | number | Numerical columns reporting NW log10 titer/ml collected from the inoculated ferret, in the units specified in units. NA, no NW was collected that day (due to every-other-day sampling schedule, or because the ferret was euthanized due to reaching humane endpoints for the study). Day is identified in the d# format (i.e. d2 is day 2 titer). |
| d3_inoc | number | Numerical columns reporting NW log10 titer/ml collected from the inoculated ferret, in the units specified in units. NA, no NW was collected that day (due to every-other-day sampling schedule, or because the ferret was euthanized due to reaching humane endpoints for the study). Day is identified in the d# format (i.e. d3 is day 3 titer). |
| lethal | checkbox | Binary column that indicates if the ferret survived the 14 day p.i. inoculation period (FALSE) or was humanely euthanized between days 1-14 p.i. due to reaching experimental endpoints (TRUE). |
| expt | text | Binary column that indicates if experimental results within the row are limited to virus-inoculated animals only (path) or if respiratory droplet transmissibility to a contact animal was concurrently assessed and reported within the row (RD). |
| units | text | Binary column that indicates if log10 titers reported in NW columns are reported as EID50 (titration in eggs, EID) or PFU (titration in cells, PFU). EID and PFU units are not interchangeable; see usage notes for limitations in drawing comparisons between viral titers derived from different units. |
| inoc_dose | number | Numeric column that indicates the log10 infectious units used to intranasally inoculate the ferret (in a 1ml total volume, with virus diluted in PBS). |
| d9_inoc | number | Numerical columns reporting NW log10 titer/ml collected from the inoculated ferret, in the units specified in units. NA, no NW was collected that day (due to every-other-day sampling schedule, or because the ferret was euthanized due to reaching humane endpoints for the study). Day is identified in the d# format (i.e. d9 is day 9 titer). |
| d6_inoc | number | Numerical columns reporting NW log10 titer/ml collected from the inoculated ferret, in the units specified in units. NA, no NW was collected that day (due to every-other-day sampling schedule, or because the ferret was euthanized due to reaching humane endpoints for the study). Day is identified in the d# format (i.e. d6 is day 6 titer). |
| lethal_day | number | Numerical column that indicates the day p.i. an animal was euthanized if humane endpoint criteria were reached (animals surviving the infection are reflected as 0). |
| na | text | Categorical column indicating neuraminidase subtype of the inoculating virus. |
| wt_loss_day | number | Numerical column that indicates the day p.i. the maximum percentage weight loss reported in wt_loss was detected (animals with no recorded drop in weight are reflected as 0). |
| d4_inoc | number | Numerical columns reporting NW log10 titer/ml collected from the inoculated ferret, in the units specified in units. NA, no NW was collected that day (due to every-other-day sampling schedule, or because the ferret was euthanized due to reaching humane endpoints for the study). Day is identified in the d# format (i.e. d4 is day 4 titer). |
| d5_inoc | number | Numerical columns reporting NW log10 titer/ml collected from the inoculated ferret, in the units specified in units. NA, no NW was collected that day (due to every-other-day sampling schedule, or because the ferret was euthanized due to reaching humane endpoints for the study). Day is identified in the d# format (i.e. d5 is day 5 titer). |
| ha | text | Categorical column indicating hemagglutinin subtype of the inoculating virus. |
| hpai | checkbox | Binary column that indicates if the inoculating virus has been classified as a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus based on criteria of the intravenous pathogenicity index15 (TRUE) or is a low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) or non-avian virus (FALSE). |
| rd_trans | text | Binary column that indicates (when a respiratory droplet transmission assessment was conducted) if virus transmission was observed based on the criteria described in the Methods (TRUE) or not (FALSE). |
| d7_inoc | number | Numerical columns reporting NW log10 titer/ml collected from the inoculated ferret, in the units specified in units. NA, no NW was collected that day (due to every-other-day sampling schedule, or because the ferret was euthanized due to reaching humane endpoints for the study). Day is identified in the d# format (i.e. d7 is day 7 titer). |
| temp_5 | number | Numerical column that specifies the maximum increase in degrees Celsius (normalized from preinoculation baseline temperature) recorded in the inoculated animal between days 1-5 p.i. (animals with no recorded rise in temperature are reflected as 0). |
| wt_loss | number | Numerical column that specifies the maximum percentage weight loss (normalized from preinoculation baseline weight) recorded in the inoculated animal between days 1-14 p.i. (animals with no recorded drop in weight are reflected as 0). |
| origin | text | Categorical column indicating the host origin of the inoculating virus. Avian, isolated from avian host or originated from an avian species during a zoonotic spillover to humans; human, human origin; swine, swine origin; canine, canine origin; variant, human infection with swine-origin virus. |
| virus | text | Unique identifier for each virus used to inoculate ferrets in the dataset. |
| ferret | text | Unique observational ID for each individual animal in the dataset. |
| temp_5_day | number | Numerical column that indicates the day p.i. the maximum percentage weight loss reported in temp_5 was detected (animals with no recorded drop in weight are reflected as 0). |
| hpai_mbaa | checkbox | Binary column that indicates if the inoculating virus is a HPAI virus that includes a multibasic amino acid HA cleavage site (TRUE) or is a HPAI virus that does not include this molecular feature or is not identified as a HPAI virus (FALSE). |
| nw_typical | checkbox | Binary column that indicates if every-other-day NW sample collection started on day 1 p.i. (TRUE) or day 2 p.i. (FALSE). |
| d8_inoc | number | Numerical columns reporting NW log10 titer/ml collected from the inoculated ferret, in the units specified in units. NA, no NW was collected that day (due to every-other-day sampling schedule, or because the ferret was euthanized due to reaching humane endpoints for the study). Day is identified in the d# format (i.e. d8 is day 8 titer). |
| temp_day | number | Numerical column that indicates the day p.i. the maximum percentage weight loss reported in temp was detected (animals with no recorded drop in weight are reflected as 0). |