Evaluation of the disinfecting capacity of ozone in emergency vehicles.

Biurrun, J.; Garcia, B.; Perez, A.; Kochan, G.; Escors, D.; Crespo, J.; Lasa, I.; Echarri, A.

Objective: As a consequence of the health crisis arising from the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic, ozone treatments are being applied as disinfectant in emergency vehicles, without objective evidence on its efficacy. Here we evaluate the efficacy of ozone treatment over bacterial strains and virus-like particles. Method: A preparation of a lentiviral vector (lentivector) and dried cultures of two bacterial strains (gram + Staphylococcus aureus and gram - Salmonella enterica ser. Enteritidis) were placed inside an ambulance at two different locations. The interior of the vehicle was subjected to 10 min and 20 min treatments (3 and 6 times the recommended time by the manufacturer). Following the treatments, lentivector preparations were titrated, and viable bacteria (colony forming units, CFUs) counted and compared to pre-treatment titers and infectious CFUs of the same lysates and cultures. Results: None of the treatments significantly reduced either lentivector titer or the number of viable bacteria. Conclusions: At least in the analyzed conditions and for the microorganisms used in this study, it can be concluded that ozone treatment is not advisable for the disinfection of emergency vehicles.