Suitability of vaccinia virus and bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) for determining activities of three commonly-used alcohol-based hand rubs against enveloped viruses.
BACKGROUND
A procedure for including activity against enveloped viruses in the post-contamination treatment of hands has been recommended, but so far no European standard is available to implement it. In 2004, the German Robert Koch-Institute (RKI) and the German Association for the Control of Virus Disease (DVV) suggested that vaccinia virus and bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) should be used as test viruses in a quantitative suspension test to determine the activity of a disinfectant against all enveloped viruses.


METHODS
We have studied the activities of three commonly-used alcohol-based hand rubs (hand rub A, based on 45% propan-2-ol, 30% propan-1-ol and 0.2% mecetronium etilsulfate; hand rub B, based on 80% ethanol; hand rub C, based on 95% ethanol) against vaccinia virus and BVDV, and in addition against four other clinically relevant enveloped viruses: herpes simplex virus (HSV) types 1 and 2, and human and avian influenza A virus. The hand rubs were challenged with different organic loads at exposure time of 15, 30 and 60 s. According to the guidelines of both BGA/RKI and DVV, and EN 14476:2005, the reduction of infectivity of each test virus was measured on appropriate cell lines using a quantitative suspension test.


RESULTS
All three alcohol-based hand rubs reduced the infectivity of vaccinia virus and BVDV by > or = 4 log10-steps within 15 s, irrespective of the type of organic load. Similar reductions of infectivity were seen against the other four enveloped viruses within 15 s in the presence of different types of organic load.


CONCLUSIONS
Commonly used alcohol-based hand rubs with a total alcohol concentration > or = 75% can be assumed to be active against clinically relevant enveloped viruses if they effectively reduce the infectivities of vaccinia virus and BVDV in a quantitative suspension test.
Kampf
Günter
G
Bode Chemie GmbH & Co, KG, Scientific Affairs, Melanchthonstr, 27, 22525 Hamburg, Germany. guenter.kampf@bode-chemie.de
Steinmann
Jochen
J
Rabenau
Holger
H
D000818:Animals; D001912:Bovine Virus Diarrhea-Mucosal Disease / Q000517:prevention & control; D002417:Cattle; D002460:Cell Line; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D001908:Diarrhea Viruses, Bovine Viral / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods; D004285:Dogs; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006225:Hand / Q000821:virology*; D006235:Hand Disinfection / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D020005:Propanols / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D014615:Vaccinia / Q000517:prevention & control; D014616:Vaccinia virus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D014709:Vero Cells
D020005:Propanols; D000431:Ethanol