Activity of an alcohol-based hand gel against human adeno-, rhino-, and rotaviruses using the fingerpad method

OBJECTIVE: To assess the activity against three nonenveloped viruses (an ad eno-, a rhino- and a rotavirus) of a gel containing 60% ethanol, using expe rimentally contaminated thumb- and fingerpads of 12 panelists, as per stand ard procedure E1838-96 of the American Society of Testing and Materials. DESIGN: Each digit received 10 mu L of the test virus suspension. The inocu lum from the thumbs was eluted immediately with 990 mu L of Earle's balance d salt solution (EBSS) to assess the amount of virus on each digit (0-minut e control) The inoculum on the fingers was allowed to dry (20-25 minutes), and virus was eluted from two fingerpads to determine the loss in virus inf ectivity upon drying (baseline titer). Then the dried inoculum on randomly selected fingers was exposed to 1 mt of the test product or standard hard w ater (200-ppm calcium carbonate) for 20 seconds. The virus remaining was el uted with 1 mt of EBSS, titrated to determine the amounts eliminated, and c ompared to the baseline titer. RESULTS: Each digit received at least 10(4) plaque-forming units of virus i n 10 mu L. The amounts of adeno-, rhino-, and rotaviruses surviving the dry ing were 30%, 75%, and 42%, respectively The product reduced the infectivit y titers of the three viruses by 3 to >4 log(10) when compared to a reducti on of less than or equal to 1 log(10) for the hard-water rinse. CONCLUSION: The level of virus reduction by gel was statistically significa ntly higher than that seen with the water control. Evidence for such activi ty against non-enveloped viruses sup ports further investigation of the ben efits of this product (Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2000;21:516-519).