Evaluation of the effectiveness of chemical disinfection agents against the Epstein-Barr virus

Abstract

The widespread spread of infection caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), the lack of registered vaccines, the possibility of implementing a transmission mechanism in medical organizations, determine disinfection as the main method of preventing this disease. The aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of chemical disinfection agents approved for use in the Russian Federation in relation to EBV-infected cell culture with quantitative DNA determination by polymerase chain reaction. Working solutions of complex disinfectants used for the treatment of medical devices were introduced into samples of EBV-infected B-cell culture in the concentration and exposure specified in the instructions (0.1 %; 60 min.). Then, the quantitative determination of the EBV DNA was performed. Chlorine-containing disinfectants, combined preparations based on aldehydes and guanidines per hour, as well as guanidines per hour and triamines, provided complete destruction of genetic material, while the combination of H with triamines led only to a decrease in the concentration of EBV DNA from 5.0 · 106 copies/ml to 2.4 · 106 copies/ml (by 2.1 times), which may not be enough to fully ensure biological safety when processing medical devices (sensors of ultrasound diagnostics devices, etc.), which are not subject to sterilization. The inability to determine the viability of EBV after treatment with disinfectants due to the initial presence of the virus in the B-cell culture makes the molecular biological method the only acceptable one at this stage and requires the search for new models – cell cultures intact to EBV or biological objects (laboratory animals). Keywords: Epstein-Barr virus, disinfection, quaternary ammonium compounds, triamines, aldehydes, guanidines, active chlorine releasing agents.