An interventional study of Exposure to Donors with naturally acquired influenza virus infection in Influenza (Healthy Volunteers), sponsored by University of Maryland, College Park. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 49 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-01-15.
Sponsored by University of Maryland, College Park · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science
This is a research study to investigate how influenza transmits from person-to-person. Participation as a healthy "Recipient" in this study involves:
If the participants get infected during the study, the investigators may:
The participants will be compensated for their time and active participation in the study; however, they may not personally benefit from the study. While the participants may receive supportive care for an infection resulting from the study, this is not meant to replace their regular medical care. If the participants become very ill and need referral for medical care, they or their medical insurance will be billed.
If the participants are someone who recently became infected with influenza either through their daily activities or by participating in this study as a Recipient, they are invited to participate in this research study as a Donor and interact with a group of health participants in a controlled environment. Participation in this study as a Donor involves exposing Recipients for at least one and up to five days including:
Attend exposure events in a controlled environment
If the participants experience severe symptoms related to their influenza infection, we may:
The participants will be compensated for their time and active participation in the study; however, they may not personally benefit from the study. While the participants may receive supportive care for their influenza infection, this is not meant to replace their regular medical care. If the participants become very ill and need referral for medical care, they or their medical insurance will be billed.
2,356 studies on the registry are indexed under Influenza, Human; 184 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 80 is below the median of 227 across 1,957 interventional studies indexed under Influenza, Human.
Browse Influenza, Human studies →University of Maryland, College Park is the lead sponsor of 62 studies on the registry; 15 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Inclusion Criteria Recipients:
Exclusion Criteria Recipients:
Presence of infection with influenza, SARS-CoV-2, or other respiratory pathogens detected via a multiplex nucleic acid amplification test (e.g., TaqMan Array Card assay) at entry to the transmission trial.
a. Volunteers with influenza infection may be eligible to enroll as Donors.
Presence of self-reported or medically documented significant medical or psychiatric condition(s) Significant medical or psychiatric conditions include but are not limited to:
Inclusion Criteria Donors:
Evidence of onset of respiratory infection within the past 48 hours at time of entry into the Donor's initial exposure event, including one or more of the following:
Exclusion Criteria Donors:
Presence of self-reported or medically documented significant medical or psychiatric condition(s) Significant medical or psychiatric conditions include but are not limited to:
Ongoing symptomatic condition for which individual has had or has ongoing medical investigations but has not yet received a diagnosis or treatment plan.
e.g., ongoing and debilitating fatigue without a diagnosis for the symptom.
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).
Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: long-term lung disease that makes it hard to breathe out, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.
Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Childbearing potential
Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).
Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
COPD
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: long-term lung disease that makes it hard to breathe out, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Corticosteroids (steroids)
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Cancer (malignancy)
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Autoimmune disease
A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.
Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
BMI (body mass index)
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Immunosuppression
A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.
Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Recipients are exposed to Donors in a controlled environment while performing prescribed activities, including playing cards and other games, and periodically shaking hands with Donors and rubbing their own nose and eyes.
Other: Exposure to Donors with naturally acquired influenza virus infection
Recipients are exposed to Donors in a controlled environment while performing prescribed activities, including playing cards and other games, and periodically shaking hands with Donors and rubbing their own nose and eyes.
PCR confirmed transmission of influenza virus infection
Transmission of influenza infection defined as having \>1 nasal swab test positive for an influenza virus matching the type and subtype detected in a trial Donor.
Time frame: 1 month
Genomic sequencing-confirmed transmission of influenza virus infection
Sequencing-confirmed transmission will be defined as a Recipient infection with a virus having ≤2 nucleotide difference from the virus infecting a trial Donor and closer genetic relationship to the apparent source Donor than Donors recruited from the community are to each other.
Time frame: 1 month
Culture-confirmed transmission of influenza virus infection
Culture-confirmed transmission will be defined as positive viral culture for a virus that is also a sequence match to a virus cultured from a Donor.
Time frame: 1 month
Plan to share: Yes — De-identified participant data will be made available through appropirate repositories (e.g. OSF.io) using REDCap's de-identification options. REDCap is a HIPAA compliant data system which we will use to store data and distribute electronic informed consent forms and surveys. This system provides de-identification options that we can use to generate de-identified data by removing known identifier fields, invalidated text fields, notes fields, and/or date fields. We can also use it to shift date and/or hash record names so the actual values will be hidden.
Time frame: IPD will be made publicly available at the time of publication of study results and will be published in a permanent (to the extent that the internet is permanent) repository with permanent DOI.
Access criteria: Publicly available via a DOI included in publications.
Start is estimated for Jan 2026; primary completion for Mar 2026, 2 months later.
Of 146 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Influenza, Human, half reached primary completion within 7 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 3 and three quarters within 18. This study's planned 2 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 166 studies reached it within 6 months; a quarter within 3 and three quarters within 16.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Jan 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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University of Maryland, College Park