Comparison of four bacteriophages exposed to chlorine on stainless steel

Description

The 2014 West African Ebola virus disease outbreak was the largest to date, and conflicting, chlorine-­based surface disinfection protocols to interrupt disease transmission were recommended. We identified only one study documenting surface disinfection efficacy against the Ebola virus, showing a >6.6 log reduction after 5­-minute exposure to 0.5% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) based on small­-scale tests (Cook et al. (2015)). In preparation for future extensive, large­-scale disinfection efficacy experiments, we replicated the Cook et al. experiment using four potential BSL­-1 surrogates selected based on similarities to the Ebola virus: bacteriophages MS2, M13, Phi6, and PR772. Each bacteriophage was exposed to 0.1% and 0.5% NaOCl for 1, 5, and 10 minutes on stainless steel. MS2 and M13 were only reduced by 3.4 log and 3.5 log after a 10-­minute exposure to 0.5% NaOCl, and would be overly conservative surrogates. Conversely, PR772 was too easily inactivated for surrogate use, as it was reduced by >4.8 log after only 1­-minute exposure to 0.5% NaOCl. Phi6 was slightly more resistant than the Ebola virus, with 4.1 log reduction after a 5­-minute exposure and not detected after a 10-­minute exposure to 0.5% NaOCl. We therefore recommend Phi6 as a surrogate for evaluating the efficacy of chlorine-­based surface disinfectants against the Ebola virus.

Resources

Name Format Description Link
21 https://data.usaid.gov/d/yd9f-fyz7
21 https://data.usaid.gov/d/fz8p-6n6k

Tags

  • ms2
  • m13
  • bacteriophages
  • phi6
  • disinfection
  • stainless-steel
  • ebola
  • pr772
  • surface
  • surrogate
  • chlorine

Topics

Categories