Office of Research and Development Publications

EVALUATING THE ENVIRONMENTAL PERSISTENCE AND INACTIVATION OF MS2 BACTERIOPHAGE AND THE PRESUMED EBOLA VIRUS SURROGATE PHI6 USING LOW CONCENTRATION HYDROGEN PEROXIDE VAPOR

Citation:

Wood, J., W. Richter, M. Sunderman, Michael Calfee, S. Serre, AND Ronald Mickelsen. EVALUATING THE ENVIRONMENTAL PERSISTENCE AND INACTIVATION OF MS2 BACTERIOPHAGE AND THE PRESUMED EBOLA VIRUS SURROGATE PHI6 USING LOW CONCENTRATION HYDROGEN PEROXIDE VAPOR. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 54(6):3581-3590, (2020). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b06034

Impact/Purpose:

Past and current Ebola virus (EBOV) disease outbreaks, as well as the ability of the virus to persist in the environment under certain conditions, highlight the need to develop effective and easy to use decontamination techniques for this lethal virus. This study evaluated the efficacy of hydrogen peroxide vapor (HPV) to inactivate MS2 and Phi6 bacteriophages, potential surrogates for the EBOV. These results may be of interest to EPA's regional partners, program offices, officials making decisions regarding decontamination options for EBOV, other researchers.

Description:

The phages were inoculated onto six material types (both porous and nonporous), with and without the presence of human whole blood. The inoculated materials were then exposed to either a high or low concentration of HPV, and the phages were recovered from the materials at several elapsed times. The phages were also recovered from the inoculated positive controls (not exposed to HPV) at these same elapsed times. A plaque assay was used to enumerate the phages.