Virucidal Activity of World Health Organization–Recommended Formulations Against Enveloped Viruses, Including Zika, Ebola, and Emerging Coronaviruses

Siddharta, Anindya; Pfaender, Stephanie; Vielle, Nathalie Jane; Dijkman, Ronald; Friesland, Martina; Becker, Britta; Yang, Jaewon; Engelmann, Michael; Todt, Daniel; Windisch, Marc P.; Brill, Florian H.; Steinmann, Joerg; Steinmann, Jochen; Becker, Stephan; Alves, Marco P.; Pietschmann, Thomas; Eickmann, Markus; Thiel, Volker; Steinmann, Eike

Hygienic hand antisepsis is one of the most important measures in preventing healthcare-and outbreak-associated viral infections. To reduce the spread of infections, biocides with a proven virucidal efficacy should be readily available. The World Health Organization (WHO) proposed in its 2009 Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care the use of of 2 alcohol-based hand rubs (formulation I and formulation II) for surgical and hygiene hand disinfection in healthcare settings and to reduce the transmission of pathogens by hands [1] . However, limited data exist on the efficacy of disinfectants, including the WHO formulations, against novel viruses that have emerged during recent outbreaks in different parts of the world. Most recently, Zika virus (ZIKV), a flavivirus that was discovered originally in Africa, has raised considerable international concern. In 2013, the largest and most complex outbreak of Ebola virus (EBOV), a filovirus that spreads mainly through contact with body fluids of symptomatic patients or contaminated surfaces, occurred in West Africa [2] . One year previously in 2012, a novel Coronavirus (CoV) named Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) emerged, preceded by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2002/2003, with both viruses causing acute respiratory diseases in humans and displaying a high case-fatality rate.