{"title":"In Vitro Efficacy of Foam Hand Sanitizers Against Enveloped and Non-Enveloped Viruses","authors":"Francis Torko, Kristen E. Gibson","doi":"10.1007/s12560-025-09640-8","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Enveloped and non-enveloped virus transmission can occur via person-to-person contact and potentially through contaminated surfaces with human hands. Establishing the efficacy of hand sanitizers, including gel and foam formats, is crucial in reducing the transmission of viruses of human health concern, yet foam hand sanitizers are generally underexplored despite being widely used. Following American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) E1052-20, the efficacy of foam-based hand sanitizers—one non-alcohol-based hand sanitizer and four alcohol-based hand sanitizers with benzalkonium chloride and ethanol as active ingredients, respectively—were explored using bacteriophage phi6 (Φ6) as a surrogate for enveloped viruses and bacteriophage MS2 (<i>Emesvirus zinderi</i>) and Tulane virus (TuV) as surrogates for non-enveloped viruses. Significant differences in log reduction were observed among viruses (<i>P</i> ≤ 0.05). After a 10 s exposure, a 5.23 ± 1.64 log reduction was observed for Φ6 while MS2 remained resistant (0.04 ± 0.08 log<sub>10</sub> reduction). Conversely, significant log reductions (<i>P</i> ≤ 0.05) were observed for TuV across all foam-based hand sanitizer products ranging from 0.07 ± 0.1 to 1.09 ± 0.22. An exposure time of 10 s (i.e., the typical rubbing time in real-world scenarios following hand sanitizer application) is likely sufficient for enveloped virus inactivation based on the inactivation of bacteriophage Φ6 by the tested commercially available products. However, longer exposure times or different hand sanitizer formulations may be required to achieve similar log reductions against non-enveloped viruses such as human norovirus based on the surrogates (MS2, TuV) tested.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":563,"journal":{"name":"Food and Environmental Virology","volume":"17 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12560-025-09640-8.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Food and Environmental Virology","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12560-025-09640-8","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Enveloped and non-enveloped virus transmission can occur via person-to-person contact and potentially through contaminated surfaces with human hands. Establishing the efficacy of hand sanitizers, including gel and foam formats, is crucial in reducing the transmission of viruses of human health concern, yet foam hand sanitizers are generally underexplored despite being widely used. Following American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) E1052-20, the efficacy of foam-based hand sanitizers—one non-alcohol-based hand sanitizer and four alcohol-based hand sanitizers with benzalkonium chloride and ethanol as active ingredients, respectively—were explored using bacteriophage phi6 (Φ6) as a surrogate for enveloped viruses and bacteriophage MS2 (Emesvirus zinderi) and Tulane virus (TuV) as surrogates for non-enveloped viruses. Significant differences in log reduction were observed among viruses (P ≤ 0.05). After a 10 s exposure, a 5.23 ± 1.64 log reduction was observed for Φ6 while MS2 remained resistant (0.04 ± 0.08 log10 reduction). Conversely, significant log reductions (P ≤ 0.05) were observed for TuV across all foam-based hand sanitizer products ranging from 0.07 ± 0.1 to 1.09 ± 0.22. An exposure time of 10 s (i.e., the typical rubbing time in real-world scenarios following hand sanitizer application) is likely sufficient for enveloped virus inactivation based on the inactivation of bacteriophage Φ6 by the tested commercially available products. However, longer exposure times or different hand sanitizer formulations may be required to achieve similar log reductions against non-enveloped viruses such as human norovirus based on the surrogates (MS2, TuV) tested.
期刊介绍:
Food and Environmental Virology publishes original articles, notes and review articles on any aspect relating to the transmission of pathogenic viruses via the environment (water, air, soil etc.) and foods. This includes epidemiological studies, identification of novel or emerging pathogens, methods of analysis or characterisation, studies on survival and elimination, and development of procedural controls for industrial processes, e.g. HACCP plans. The journal will cover all aspects of this important area, and encompass studies on any human, animal, and plant pathogenic virus which is capable of transmission via the environment or food.