Evaluating the virucidal efficacy of hydrogen peroxide vapour

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2014.02.003Get rights and content

Summary

Background

Surface contamination has been implicated in the transmission of certain viruses, and surface disinfection can be an effective measure to interrupt the spread of these agents.

Aim

To evaluate the in-vitro efficacy of hydrogen peroxide vapour (HPV), a vapour-phase disinfection method, for the inactivation of a number of structurally distinct viruses of importance in the healthcare, veterinary and public sectors. The viruses studied were: feline calicivirus (FCV, a norovirus surrogate); human adenovirus type 1; transmissible gastroenteritis coronavirus of pigs (TGEV, a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus [SARS-CoV] surrogate); avian influenza virus (AIV); and swine influenza virus (SwIV).

Methods

The viruses were dried on stainless steel discs in 20- or 40-μL aliquots and exposed to HPV produced by a Clarus L generator (Bioquell, Horsham, PA, USA) in a 0.2-m3 environmental chamber. Three vaporized volumes of hydrogen peroxide were tested in triplicate for each virus: 25, 27 and 33 mL.

Findings

No viable viruses were identified after HPV exposure at any of the vaporized volumes tested. HPV was virucidal (>4-log reduction) against FCV, adenovirus, TGEV and AIV at the lowest vaporized volume tested (25 mL). For SwIV, due to low virus titre on the control discs, >3.8-log reduction was shown for the 25-mL vaporized volume and >4-log reduction was shown for the 27-mL and 33-mL vaporized volumes.

Conclusion

HPV was virucidal for structurally distinct viruses dried on surfaces, suggesting that HPV can be considered for the disinfection of virus-contaminated surfaces.

Keywords

Hydrogen peroxide vapour
HPV
Feline calicivirus
Norovirus
Influenza virus
Adenovirus
Transmissible gastroenteritis virus
SARS
Disinfection
Decontamination

Cited by (0)

View Abstract