METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO DISINFECTION OF HUMAN HEPATITIS-B VIRUS

Three commercial disinfectants (two quaternary formulations and one ph enolic) were tested against human hepatitis B vims (HHBV). The treated virus was assayed for infectivity by the chimpanzee assay and for mor phological alteration by the Morphological Alteration and Disintegrati on Test. The same agents were tested against duck hepatitis B virus in a duck hepatocyte infectivity assay. It is apparent that human and du ck hepatitis viruses were relatively susceptible to disinfection, beco ming noninfectious after less-than-or-equal-to 10 min of contact with the disinfectant. The Morphological Alteration and Disintegration Test accurately predicted activity in the two infectivity tests. The anti- human hepatitis B virus effect of the low-level quaternary ammonium ge rmicides is a novel finding and suggests that members of the family He padnaviridae are relatively susceptible to chemical agents.