The full article appears in the Journal of Hospital Infection. This post presents the summery of the findings presented by Franke G, Knobling B, Brill FH, Becker B, Klupp EM, Campos CB, PfefferleS, Lütgehetmann M, Knobloch JK.
Institute for Medical Microbiology, Virology and Hygiene, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
Dr. Brill + Partner GmbH Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology, Norderoog 2, 28259, Bremen, Germany
Background: The presence of coronaviruses on surfaces in the patient environment is a potential source of indirect transmission. Manual cleaning and disinfection measures do not consistently achieve sufficient removal of surface contamination. This increases the importance of automated solutions in the context of the final disinfection of rooms in the hospital setting. Ozone is a highly effective disinfectant that, combined with high humidity, is an effective agent against respiratory viruses. Current devices allow continuous nebulization for high room humidity as well as ozone production without any consumables.
Aim: In the following study, the effectiveness of a fully automatic room decontamination system based on ozone was tested against bacteriophage Φ6 (phi 6) and bovine coronavirus as surrogate viruses for the pandemic coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
Methods: For this purpose, various surfaces (ceramic tile, stainless steel surface, and furniture board) were soiled with the surrogate viruses and placed at two different levels in a gastight test room. After using the automatic decontamination device according to the manufacturer’s instructions, the surrogate viruses were recovered from the surfaces and examined by quantitative cultures. Then, reduction factors were calculated.
Findings: The ozone-based room decontamination device achieved virucidal efficacy (reduction factor >4 log10) against both surrogate organisms regardless of the different surfaces and positions, confirming a high activity under the used conditions.
Conclusion: In summary, we found that ozone in combination with high humidity as generated by an automated room decontamination system has a high activity against SARS-CoV-2 surrogate viruses bacteriophage Φ6 and BCoV on different solid surfaces in the hospital environment, confirming the process as virucidal disinfection. Future work is needed to study compatibility with different surface materials to ensure safe operation of automated room decontamination in the hospital setting.
Learn more about the testing methods and Read the full article here
References: Franke G, Knobling B, Brill FH, Becker B, Klupp EM, Campos CB, PfefferleS, Lütgehetmann M, Knobloch JK, An automated room disinfection system using ozone is highly active against surrogates for SARS-CoV-2, Journal of Hospital Infection, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2021.04.007.