Abstract
COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 caused a worldwide crisis, highlighting the importance of preventive measures in infectious diseases control. SARS-CoV-2 can remain infectious on surfaces for up to several weeks; therefore, proper disinfection is required to mitigate the risk of indirect virus spreading. Gaseous ozone treatment has received particular attention as an easily accessible disinfection tool. In this study, we evaluated the virucidal effectiveness of gaseous ozone treatment (>7.3 ppm, 2 h) on murine hepatitis virus (MHV)-contaminated stainless-steel surface and PBS-suspended virus under field conditions at ambient (21.8%) and high (49.8–54.2%) relative humidity. Surficial virus was soiled with 0.3 g/L of BSA. Parallelly, a half-hour vaporization with 7.3% hydrogen peroxide was performed on contaminated carriers. The obtained results showed that gaseous ozone, whilst quite effective against suspended virus, was insufficient in sanitizing coronavirus contaminated surfaces, especially under low RH. Increased humidity created more favorable conditions for MHV inactivation, resulting in 2.1 log titre reduction. Vaporization with 7.3% hydrogen peroxide presented much better virucidal performance than ozonation in a similar experimental setup, indicating that its application may be more advantageous regarding gaseous disinfection of surfaces contaminated with other coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2.
Highlights
In recent months, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)has spread worldwide, causing a global health crisis
With respect to indirect transmission, one of the most spectacular cases was documented in Beijing, where contaminated coldchain food was demonstrated as the source of the disease outbreak in seafood market workers [9]
The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of gaseous ozone generated by dielectric barrier discharge and hydrogen peroxide fumigation conducted under field conditions
Summary
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)has spread worldwide, causing a global health crisis. SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted mainly via respiratory aerosols and droplets generated during breathing, speaking, coughing, and sneezing [1]. Reports showed that SARSCoV-2 loses its infectivity faster on porous than non-porous surfaces, where it can persist up to 14 days [6,7]. It has been demonstrated that the pathogen persists even up to 21 days on smooth surfaces such as plastic [8]. With respect to indirect transmission, one of the most spectacular cases was documented in Beijing, where contaminated coldchain food was demonstrated as the source of the disease outbreak in seafood market workers [9]. Few indirect transmission cases have been documented, contact with contaminated fomites is still considered a possible route for disease spreading [7,10,11,12]
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