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Environmental persistence of vaccinia virus on materials
Author(s) -
Wood J.P.,
Choi Y.W.,
Wendling M.Q.,
Rogers J.V.,
Chappie D.J.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
letters in applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.698
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1472-765X
pISSN - 0266-8254
DOI - 10.1111/lam.12126
Subject(s) - homeland security , library science , homeland , agency (philosophy) , political science , law , politics , sociology , terrorism , computer science , social science
Smallpox is caused by the variola virus, and ranks as one of the most serious diseases that could originate from a biological weapon. However, limited data exist on the persistence of variola and related viruses on materials (that may act as fomites), under controlled environmental conditions. To fill these data gaps, we determined the persistence of the vaccinia virus (an established surrogate for the variola virus) as a function of temperature, relative humidity and material. Experiments were conducted with vaccinia virus in a freeze‐dried form, using four materials under four sets of environmental conditions. After elapsed times ranging from 1 to 56 days, the virus was extracted from small coupons and quantified via plaque‐forming units ( PFU ). The vaccinia virus was most persistent at low temperature and low relative humidity, with greater than 10 4 PFU recovered from glass, galvanized steel and painted cinder block at 56 days (equivalent to only a c . 2 log reduction). Thus, vaccinia virus may persist from weeks to months, depending on the material and environmental conditions. This study may aid those responsible for infection control to make informed decisions regarding the need for environmental decontamination following the release of an agent such as variola. Significance and Impact of the Study Smallpox is caused by the variola virus, and ranks as one of the most serious diseases that could originate from a biological weapon. However, limited data exist on the persistence of variola and related viruses (such as vaccinia, an established surrogate) on materials that may act as fomites. Persistence data are also inadequate for these viruses under controlled environmental conditions. The results from this study will fill some of these data gaps and may aid those responsible for infection control to make informed decisions regarding the need for decontamination after the release of a biological agent such as variola.