3.5 Acid stability
Resistance to low pH is crucial for
influenza viruses to survive in the environment (Scholtissek, 1985). To
understand the acid stability of these two isolates, both strains were
treated in solution with different pH values and then virus titers were
determined by TCID50 on MDCK cells. The
results (Figure 3C) showed that both
viruses presented a quite high replication capacity until treatment with
pH 5.4, indicating they were relatively stable in acidic environment.