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What the data show is that the virus is limited to this one type of cell called SUS, or sustentacular—cells in the olfactory tissue in the nasal cavity.

Others were “sustentacular” cells, which seem to provide various kinds of support to the neurons: metabolic and physical, plus maintaining the right salt balance in the mucus that is essential for odor detection.

Just two days later, about half of the hamsters’ sustentacular cells were infected.

Increase in size following emergence from hibernation may be due in part to proliferation of the sustentacular cytoplasm.

But sustentacular cells, which support olfactory neurons in important ways, are studded with the receptors.