title: Virucidal effects of rodent cage-cleaning practices on the viability of adenovirus vectors.
abstract: Human adenoviruses and adenoviral vectors are classified as Risk Group 2 agents and require BSL2 containment and practices. An additional consideration in using adenoviruses and viral vectors in laboratory animal studies is the possible transmission of these agents to other animals and/or personnel as a result of viral shedding in animal urine and feces. When handling BSL2 agents, cage-wash staff are required to wear appropriate personnel protective equipment, including scrubs, Tyvek suit, hair covering, dust mask, shoes covers, and gloves. Current decontamination procedures are to bag and autoclave soiled rodent cages containing bedding prior to washing in the cage washer to prevent possible adenoviral transmission. However, the practice of autoclaving softens the polycarbonate-based rodent cages, allowing damaging agents or conditions to affect the integrity of the plastic and degrade the cages. The objective of this study was to determine whether current rodent cage-cleaning practices produced virucidal effects for use in lieu of or prior to autoclaving the cages. We found that heating an Av3GFP vector in a test tube to a temperature of 74 degrees C (165 degrees F) for 6 min conditions equivalent to those of the cage washer resulted in greater than an 11-log reduction in infectivity of the vector as evaluated by its cytopathic effect on cells. The combination of heating and a liquid, phosphate-free alkaline detergent produced the same reduction in vector infectivity. However, common cage-cleaning solutions alone possessed no virucidal activity. The high temperatures used in cage-washing procedures alone or in combination with a cleaning solution reduced or eliminated the risk of transmission from viral shedding through urine and feces even at vector concentrations far greater than would ever be expected to be present. Autoclaving cages diminishes the stability and integrity of the polycarbonate cages without providing a further reduction in the risk of virus or vector transmission. On the basis of results from this study, new cage-wash recommendations include dumping the contaminated bedding into a HEPA-filtered waste disposal system and autoclaving the bags of bedding before disposal, then cleaning the cages in the rack washer at wash temperatures of 74 degrees C (165 F) and rinse temperatures of 82 degrees C (180 F).
authors.affiliation: Genetic Therapy, Inc., 9 W. Watkins Mill Road, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20878, USA.
authors.forename: Jacqueline D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Porter
authors.forename: Russette M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Lyons
mesh_terms: D000256:Adenoviridae / Q000502:physiology*; D000257:Adenoviridae Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D003264:Containment of Biohazards / Q000379:methods*; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods*; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000502:physiology; D006799:Housing, Animal; D012377:Rodentia