Resistance of human immunodeficiency virus to disinfectants and fixatives.
Int Conf AIDS 1989 Jun 4-9; 5:177 (abstract no. A.601) Hanson P, Gor D, Jeffries DJ, Collins JV; Brompton and St. Stephen's Hospitals, London
Previous reports that HIV is susceptible to disinfectants are based on suspension tests. We tested 70% alcohol (IMS, Alcohols Ltd.; final concentration ethanol 63.8%, methanol 3.5%, water 26.5% v/v), acetone, 1% and 2% alkaline glutaraldehyde (Cidex, Surgikos Ltd) against HIV dried on a surface. The following inocula were dried in triplicate on to sterile coverslips and immersed in disinfectant: 1) Cell-free HIV in 10% serum at 10(4) TCID (TCID = reciprocal of the highest dilution of virus infecting tissue cultures within 7 days); 2) 10(4) HIV-infected T-lymphocytes; 3) Cell-free HIV (10(4) TCID) in neat serum. At timed intervals disinfectant was rinsed off with PBS-A. Coverslips were cultured for 21 days in RPMI with C8166 cells and examined for syncytia and HIV antigens; positive cultures were passaged into fresh cultures to confirm infectivity. Disinfectant-free and toxicity controll were performed.
RESULTS: 70% alcohol failed to inactivate cell-free or cell-associated HIV within 20 minutes. Acetone, tested only against cell-associated inocula, failed to inactivate HIV within 40 minutes. 2% and 1% glutaraldehyde inactivated cell-free and cell-associated HIV within 2 minutes. In the presence of net serum 2% glutaraldehyde remained effective but 1% failed to inactivate HIV within the 15 minutes tested.
CONCLUSION: Acetone and 70% alcohol failed to kill HIV on surfaces within 40 and 20 minutes respectively; serum greatly reduced the efficacy of 1% glutaraldehyde.
