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Appl. Environ. Microbiol. doi:10.1128/AEM.02442-07
Copyright (c) 2008, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

Inactivation and UV/TiO₂ Disinfection of Murine Norovirus under Various Environmental Conditions

Institute of Health and Environment, Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Seoul National University, 28 Yeongeon-dong, Chongro-gu, Seoul, Korea, 110-799

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: gko{at}snu.ac.kr.

	Abstract

We studied the inactivation and UV disinfection of murine norovirus (MNV) as a surrogate for human norovirus. We investigated the effects of different surface characteristics, temperatures, and NaCl concentrations on MNV survival using both plaque assay and real-time TaqMan RT-PCR assay. MNV survived more than 40 days on diaper, on gauze, and in stool suspension. Compared to lower temperatures (–20°C and 4°C), inactivation of MNV was greater at higher temperatures (18°C and 30°C). On the surface of both the gauze and diaper, less than 2 log₁₀ reduction of infectious MNV occurred in 40 days at both –20°C and 4°C, compared to more than 5 log₁₀ reduction at 30°C in 24 days. MNV survived better in stool suspension than on the surface of the gauze or diaper. Higher salt concentration increased the inactivation rate of MNV. In 72 h, less than 0.3 log₁₀, 1.5 log₁₀, and 2.5 log₁₀ reductions of infectious MNV occurred in distilled water, 0.5 M, and 1 M NaCl, respectively. We observed only minor reduction of viral RNA copies as quantified by real-time TaqMan RT-PCR regardless of temperature, salt concentration, or suspending media. We also evaluated UV disinfection with and without TiO₂ of infectious MNV. MNV was significantly reduced by 254 nm UV with and without TiO₂. When 25 mJ/cm² UV was exposed, 3.3 log₁₀ and 3.6 log₁₀ reductions of infectious MNV occurred with and without TiO₂, respectively. Our results demonstrate that MNV can persist in various environmental conditions and can be efficiently controlled by UV disinfection.