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EBOV remains viable for several days under treatment unit conditions
Ebola virus appears to have an increased ability to remain viable in hospital conditions, requiring appropriate disinfection in Ebola treatment units, according to research published in Emerging Infectious Diseases.
“Determining the persistence of EBOV on surfaces and under environmental conditions specific to outbreak settings and disease-endemic areas is critical to improving safety practices for health care workers, as well as answering questions about EBOV transmission among the public,” Vincent Munster PhD, chief virus ecology unit, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and colleagues wrote. “Researchers have experimentally assessed the stability of other EBOV strains on plastic, glass, and steel within dried media or guinea pig serum; in the dark on glass; and during exposure to UV light. However, the environmental conditions of these studies do not reflect the higher temperatures and relative humidities (RHs) in outbreak regions, or the current outbreak strain.”
The researchers tested current outbreak strain Makona-WPGC07 on stainless steel, plastic and Tyvek, three materials popular in Ebola treatment units (ETUs), and in water, spiked human blood, and blood from infected nonhuman primates. Tests were at 21°C, 40% RH and 27° C, 80% RH, to simulate climate-controlled hospital conditions and conditions in West Africa, respectively, the researchers wrote.
EBOV live longer in hospital conditions than in conditions typical of West Africa, with EBOV decaying faster on stainless steel than on Tyvek (P < .0001) and plastic (P = .004) when the climate was cooler, according to the researchers. In warmer conditions, the virus remained viable on steel and plastic at about the same rate, but remained longer on Tyvek than on either of the other surfaces (P < .0001).
The virus also showed the ability to remain viable longer in liquid than dried blood, either in humans or other primates, and colleagues wrote.
“We found that EBOV can persist on surfaces common in an ETU, highlighting the need for adherence to thorough disinfection and doffing protocols when exiting the ETUs and careful handling of medical waste,” the researchers wrote. “The finding that EBOV remains viable in water for as long as 3 (27°C) and 6 (21°C) days at the experimental concentration warrants further investigation into the persistence of the virus in aqueous environments, such as in wastewater or sewage canals.”
The researchers also wrote that the ability of EBOV to live in water or dried blood for several days means that “dried and liquid blood from an infected person in their home or ETU should be treated as potentially infectious.” – by David Jwanier
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.