Ozone inactivation of airborne influenza and lack of resistance of respiratory syncytial virus to aerosolization and sampling processes

Abstract

Influenza and RSV are human viruses responsible for outbreaks in hospitals, long-term care facilities and nursing homes. The present study assessed an air treatment using ozone at two relative humidity conditions (RHs) in order to reduce the infectivity of airborne influenza. Bovine pulmonary surfactant (BPS) and synthetic tracheal mucus (STM) were used as aerosols protectants to better reflect the human aerosol composition. Residual ozone concentration inside the aerosol chamber was also measured. RSV’s sensitivity resulted in testing its resistance to aerosolization and sampling processes instead of ozone exposure. The results showed that without supplement and with STM, a reduction in influenza A infectivity of four orders of magnitude was obtained with an exposure to 1.70 ± 0.19 ppm of ozone at 76% RH for 80 min. Consequently, ozone could be considered as a virucidal disinfectant for airborne influenza A. RSV did not withstand the aerosolization and sampling processes required for the use of the experimental setup. Therefore, ozone exposure could not be performed for this virus. Nonetheless, this study provides great insight for the efficacy of ozone as an air treatment for the control of nosocomial influenza A outbreaks.

Inactivation of Pathogenic Microorganisms on Polymeric Materials through Ozonation

“…This result was expected, as the ozone concentration was higher at the highest ozone flow. Therefore, it is believed that the rapid inactivation of MHV‐3 at the highest flow rate studied is related to the formation of a high rate of hydroxyl radicals ( • OH) on the surface of the material 24, 27–32.…”

“…Therefore, it is believed that the rapid inactivation of MHV-3 at the highest flow rate studied is related to the formation of a high rate of hydroxyl radicals ( . OH) on the surface of the material [24,[27][28][29][30][31][32].…”

Rapid in vitro virucidal activity of slightly acidic hypochlorous acid water toward aerosolized coronavirus in simulated human-dispersed droplets

“…Besides studies using HAW products, recent investigations evaluated the virucidal activity of UV light, and of ozone gas toward airborne viruses, for establishing aerosol disinfection strategies ( Dubuis et al., 2021 , M.-E. 2020 ; Walker and Ko, 2007 ). Users need to understand that each aerosol disinfection strategy has advantages and disadvantages.…”

Nonthermal plasma‐generated ozone inhibits human coronavirus 229E infectivity on glass surface

“…Viral replication and translation are highly sensitive to oxidative stress. [41][42][43][44] This could be explained by the plausible PGO-mediated modification of the thiol groups in the spike glycoprotein, which renders it incapable of binding to host cell receptors, leading to failure of virus entry. On the contrary, modification of the lipid layer could elevate the oxidative stress effects inside cells, causing impairment of viral gene expression and translation of viral proteins.…”