Inactivation of Viruses on Surfaces by Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation

Abstract

In many outbreaks caused by viruses, the transmission of the agents can occur through contaminated environmental surfaces. Because of the increasing incidence of viral infections, there is a need to evaluate novel engineering control methods for inactivation of viruses on surfaces. Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) is considered a promising method to inactivate viruses. This study evaluated UVGI effectiveness for viruses on the surface of gelatin-based medium in a UV exposure chamber. The effects of UV dose, viral nucleic acid type (single-stranded RNA, ssRNA; single-stranded DNA, ssDNA; double-stranded RNA, dsRNA; and double-stranded DNA, dsDNA), and relative humidity on the virus survival fraction were investigated. For 90% viral reduction, the UV dose was 1.32 to 3.20 mJ/cm2 for ssRNA, 2.50 to to 4.47 mJ/cm2 for ssDNA, 3.80 to 5.36 mJ/cm2 for dsRNA, and 7.70 to 8.13 mJ/cm2 for dsDNA. For all four tested viruses, the UV dose for 99% viral reduction was 2 times higher than those for 90% viral reduction. Viruses on a surface with single-stranded nucleic acid (ssRNA and ssDNA) were more susceptible to UV inactivation than viruses with double-stranded nucleic acid (dsRNA and dsDNA). For the same viral reduction, the UV dose at 85% relative humidity (RH) was higher than that at 55% RH. In summary, results showed that UVGI was an effective method for inactivation of viruses on surfaces.

A method to determine the available UV-C dose for the decontamination of filtering facepiece respirators

“…2007). For these substrates, the microbial contamination is deposited on the surface exterior, thus UV‐C decontamination of viruses (Tseng and Li 2007), spores (Gardner and Shama 1998) and other microbes (Gorsuch et al. 1998) has been shown to be effective.…”

Quantification of Airborne Influenza and Avian Influenza Virus in a Wet Poultry Market using a Filter/Real-time qPCR Method

“…Because the culture method remains the dominant analytical method for bioaerosol measurements, many studies have investigated sampling efficiency using culturability and the preservation of culturability measurements as a function of the composition of the collection medium (Agranovski et al 2004;Hermann et al 2006;Pyankov et al 2007;Tseng and Li 2007). However, culture techniques tend to underestimate bioaerosol concentrations by two orders of magnitude (Heidelberg et al 1997;.…”

Ultra violet light in the Biosafety Cabinets fails to inactivate H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus in Poultry Feces

“…In another study by Fasina et al, (2010), the exposure to UV light up to 180 minutes was not found to have any effect on the HPAI H5N1 virus ability to haemagglutinate chicken RBC, pathogenicity in eggs and haemagglutination titre. Effectiveness of UV light depends on various factors such as presence of organic matter, humidity, cleanliness of UV light bulbs, age of UV lamps, and the pattern and duration of use of the UV light for disinfection (Burgener, 2006;Tseng and Li, 2007). UV radiation cannot be considered an appropriate method for disinfection of premises such as a BSC as it is efficacious only on surfaces free from organic matter and well cleaned and when light source is positioned very close to the surfaces to be disinfected.…”

“…Recommended personal protection procedures in the laboratory include mandatory handling of the suspected field samples that would include fecal samples from infected poultry inside a Class II Biosafety Cabinet (BSC). Ultraviolet (UV) light has been known to be effective in inactivating many viruses under some conditions and is routinely used for disinfecting the BSC in laboratories (Tseng and Li, 2007). Ability of UV light to disinfect biosafety cabinet surfaces again depends on a number of factors, viz., shelf life of the UV light, distance from the surface, duration of exposure, penetrability of the light waves in the medium, etc (Nicklin et al, 1999).…”