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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2007, p. 4463-4468, Vol. 73, No. 14
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02839-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Evaluation of Liquid- and Fog-Based Application of Sterilox Hypochlorous Acid Solution for Surface Inactivation of Human Norovirus

Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina,¹ PuriCore Inc., 508 Lapp Road, Malvern, Pennsylvania 19355²

Received 6 December 2006/ Accepted 27 April 2007

Noroviruses (NVs) are the most frequent cause of outbreaks of gastroenteritis in common settings, with surface-mediated transfer via contact with fecally contaminated surfaces implicated in exposure. NVs are environmentally stable and persistent and have a low infectious dose. Several disinfectants have been evaluated for efficacy to control viruses on surfaces, but the toxicity and potential damage to treated materials limits their applicability. Sterilox hypochlorous acid (HOCl) solution (HAS) has shown broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity while being suitable for general use. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the efficacy of HAS to reduce NV both in aqueous suspensions and on inanimate carriers. HOCl was further tested as a fog to decontaminate large spaces. HOCl effectiveness was evaluated using nonculturable human NV measured by reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) and two surrogate viruses, coliphage MS2 and murine NV, that were detected by both infectivity and RT-PCR. Exposing virus-contaminated carriers of ceramic tile (porous) and stainless steel (nonporous) to 20 to 200 ppm of HOCl solution resulted in 99.9% (3 log₁₀) reductions of both infectivity and RNA titers of tested viruses within 10 min of exposure time. HOCl fogged in a confined space reduced the infectivity and RNA titers of NV, murine NV, and MS2 on these carriers by at least 99.9% (3 log₁₀), regardless of carrier location and orientation. We conclude that HOCl solution as a liquid or fog is likely to be effective in disinfecting common settings to reduce NV exposures and thereby control virus spread via fomites.

Published ahead of print on 4 May 2007.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Belliot, G., Lavaux, A., Souihel, D., Agnello, D., Pothier, P. (2008). Use of Murine Norovirus as a Surrogate To Evaluate Resistance of Human Norovirus to Disinfectants. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 3315-3318 [Abstract] [Full Text]