This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Other Versions of this Article: AEM.00487-08v1 74/16/5047    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Google Scholar Articles by Macinga, D. R. Articles by Arbogast, J. W. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Macinga, D. R. Articles by Arbogast, J. W. Agricola Articles by Macinga, D. R. Articles by Arbogast, J. W.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2008, p. 5047-5052, Vol. 74, No. 16
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00487-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Improved Inactivation of Nonenveloped Enteric Viruses and Their Surrogates by a Novel Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizer

GOJO Industries, Inc., Akron, Ohio 44311,¹ Centre for Research on Environmental Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada,² Department of Food Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina³

Received 28 February 2008/ Accepted 19 June 2008

Norovirus is the leading cause of food-related illness in the United States, and contamination of ready-to-eat items by food handlers poses a high risk for disease. This study reports the in vitro (suspension test) and in vivo (fingerpad protocol) assessments of a new ethanol-based hand sanitizer containing a synergistic blend of polyquaternium polymer and organic acid, which is active against viruses of public health importance, including norovirus. When tested in suspension, the test product reduced the infectivity of the nonenveloped viruses human rotavirus (HRV), poliovirus type 1 (PV-1), and the human norovirus (HNV) surrogates feline calicivirus (FCV) F-9 and murine norovirus type 1 (MNV-1) by greater than 3 log₁₀ after a 30-s exposure. In contrast, a benchmark alcohol-based hand sanitizer reduced only HRV by greater than 3 log₁₀ and none of the additional viruses by greater than 1.2 log₁₀ after the same exposure. In fingerpad experiments, the test product produced a 2.48 log₁₀ reduction of MNV-1 after a 30-s exposure, whereas a 75% ethanol control produced a 0.91 log₁₀ reduction. Additionally, the test product reduced the infectivity titers of adenovirus type 5 (ADV-5) and HRV by 3.16 log₁₀ and 4.32 log₁₀, respectively, by the fingerpad assay within 15 s; and PV-1 was reduced by 2.98 log₁₀ in 30 s by the same method. Based on these results, we conclude that this new ethanol-based hand sanitizer is a promising option for reducing the transmission of enteric viruses, including norovirus, by food handlers and care providers.

Published ahead of print on 27 June 2008.