DISINFECTION OF HUMAN ENTERIC VIRUSES ON FOMITES

The virucidal action of several commercially available disinfectant pr eparations was assayed against hepatitis A virus and human rotavirus d ried on polystyrene. Overall, the level of virus disinfection achieved was very poor, usually inducing less than 3 log titre reduction. Susp ension tests performed with the same disinfectants showed different vi rus inactivation rates, thus failing to provide a reliable indication of the actual virus disinfection on fomites. In our studies, bacteriop hages of Bacteroides fragilis proved to be a simple, cheap and reliabl e screening tool for the evaluation of virus disinfection on non-porou s surfaces. The same conclusion cannot be drawn for poliovirus.