Abstract
The requirement for novel decontamination technologies for use in hospitals is ever present. One such system uses 405 nm visible light to inactivate microorganisms via ROS-generated oxidative damage. Although effective for bacterial and fungal inactivation, little is known about the virucidal effects of 405 nm light. Norovirus (NoV) gastroenteritis outbreaks often occur in the clinical setting, and this study was designed to investigate potential inactivation effects of 405 nm light on the NoV surrogate, feline calicivirus (FCV). FCV was exposed to 405 nm light whilst suspended in minimal and organically-rich media to establish the virucidal efficacy and the effect biologically-relevant material may play in viral susceptibility. Antiviral activity was successfully demonstrated with a 4 Log10 (99.99%) reduction in infectivity when suspended in minimal media evident after a dose of 2.8 kJ cm−2. FCV exposed in artificial faeces, artificial saliva, blood plasma and other organically rich media exhibited an equivalent level of inactivation using between 50–85% less dose of the light, indicating enhanced inactivation when the virus is present in organically-rich biologically-relevant media. Further research in this area could aid in the development of 405 nm light technology for effective NoV decontamination within the hospital environment.
Highlights
Norovirus (NoV), one of the most common causes of epidemic acute gastroenteritis (Hall et al 2013), can be transmitted via food and water, person-to-person contact or contact with environmental surfaces (Robilotti et al 2015)
When exposed in 10% foetal bovine serum (FBS)-Dulbecco’s modified eagle’s medium (DMEM), a significantly lower dose was required for viral inactivation (Fig. 3), with a 4.8 Log10 reduction achieved after a dose of 421 J cm-2
As the presence of FBS in DMEM is thought to reduce the level of oxidation upon exposure to normal laboratory lighting (Grzelak et al 2001), the exposure was repeated with feline calicivirus (FCV) suspended in DMEM without FBS to observe any differences in inactivation kinetics
Summary
Norovirus (NoV), one of the most common causes of epidemic acute gastroenteritis (Hall et al 2013), can be transmitted via food and water, person-to-person contact or contact with environmental surfaces (Robilotti et al 2015). Environmental stability and resistance to disinfection further aid the transmission of NoV, with viral particles detected on surfaces up to 42 days after contamination (Escudero et al 2012). NoV outbreaks in the healthcare setting and other densely populated areas such as nursing homes, schools and restaurants (Robilotti et al 2015) have driven the need for new decontamination systems. Advanced decontamination technologies used to overcome nosocomial outbreaks include ozone, hydrogen peroxide vapour and UV-light systems (Maclean et al 2015).
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