Inactivation of Hantaan virus-containing samples for subsequent investigations outside biosafety level 3 facilities.
OBJECTIVE
The potential risk of accidental infection by hantaviruses in a clinical or research laboratory necessitates special precautionary measures. A biosafety program must address handling and disposal of infectious materials as well as appropriate virus inactivation or depletion procedures to permit necessary further processing of specimens outside the biosafety level 3 laboratory.


METHODS
To study the elimination of hantavirus infectivity, the effects of different chemical and physical inactivation and depletion procedures were investigated on Hantaan virus-containing materials. An infectivity assay for hantaviruses was utilised to verify these procedures which are commonly preceding investigations such as ELISA, flow cytometry analysis, Western blot or immunofluorescence assay.


RESULTS
Chemical inactivation with methanol, paraformaldehyde, acetone/methanol and detergent-containing lysis buffer as well as physical forces such as UV irradiation and filtration efficiently reduced viral infectivity in infected cells and their supernatants below the detection limit.


CONCLUSIONS
The virus inactivation and depletion methods described herein are suitable to prepare non-infectious samples for further use in immunological, virological and cell-biological assays.
Kraus
Annette A
AA
Institut fur Virologie, Charité, Universitatsmedizin Berlin, Campus Charité Mitte, Berlin, Germany.
Priemer
Christina
C
Heider
Harald
H
Kruger
Detlev H
DH
Ulrich
Rainer
R
D000818:Animals; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D003264:Containment of Biohazards; D004202:Disinfectants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods; D005374:Filtration / Q000379:methods; D018063:Hantaan virus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000528:radiation effects*; D006480:Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays; D014709:Vero Cells; D038301:Virus Inactivation / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000528:radiation effects*
D004202:Disinfectants