The diversity of potential exposures to influenza virus underscores the importance of studying the development of respiratory disease resulting from alternate exposure routes. This knowledge is critical for both a greater understanding of the establishment of influenza virus respiratory disease as well as differences in virus transmission dynamics following differing exposure routes. The facile dissemination of virus inoculum from ocular to nasal tissue, and the detection of virus in both NW and CW samples throughout the acute phase of ferret infection, highlights the ability for concurrent ocular and respiratory disease following influenza virus infection; not surprisingly, reports of conjunctivitis and influenza-like illness in the same individual have been documented during H7 outbreaks resulting in human infection [40, 51] . While much regarding the properties which regulate the ocular tropism of influenza viruses remains to be determined, our results highlight the potential for a range of influenza A subtypes to initiate infection through the eye and support the use of eye protection during occupational exposure to aerosols containing influenza viruses [19, 52, 53] .