Summary
Background
Non-enveloped viruses are particularly resistant to disinfectants, so it is necessary
to use disinfectants with proven virucidal activity in order to prevent and control
the spread of viral infections. However, a test such as EN 1500, which uses an internal
standard as the reference treatment for determining the bactericidal efficacy of hand
rubs, is still lacking. This study aimed to establish a European standard for testing
the in-vivo efficacy of hand rubs against non-enveloped viruses.
Methods
The concentration and mode of application of ethanol as the reference were determined,
and compared with the efficacies of two commonly used hand rubs. The hands of volunteers
were contaminated with murine norovirus strain S99.
Results
70% wt/wt ethanol (2 x 3 mL in 2 x 30 s) was used as the internal reference treatment.
The commercial ethanol-based hand rub was able to reduce the titre of murine norovirus
significantly in 30 s, whereas a hand rub based on ethanol and propan-2-ol was significantly
less effective compared with the reference.
Conclusion
This study established a possible standard for testing the in-vivo efficacy of hand
rubs against non-enveloped viruses using murine norovirus, a low contamination volume
technique and ethanol as the internal reference. These findings need to be confirmed
in European ring trials.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 13, 2023
Accepted:
March 5,
2023
Received in revised form:
February 20,
2023
Received:
January 17,
2023
Identification
Copyright
© 2023 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
