Aerosolized Hydrogen Peroxide Decontamination of N95 Respirators, with Fit-Testing and Virologic Confirmation of Suitability for Re-Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic

T. Hans Derr; Melissa A. James; Chad V. Kuny; Prem P. Kandel; Matthew D. Beckman; Kevin L. Hockett; Mark A. Bates; Moriah L Szpara

Viral inactivation of inoculum on respirator facepieces was anticipated to occur both by the process of drying or desiccation, and by the process of aHP decontamination. Multiple virus species were selected as surrogates to test the decontamination potential of aHP against viruses in general, and against the characteristics of SARS-CoV2. To test the ability of aHP to inactivate viruses similar to this pathogen, we utilized two enveloped viruses, the RNA bacteriophage phi6, and the large DNA virus HSV-1. We also included the non-enveloped or naked-capsid enterovirus, CVB3. The key characteristics of the surrogate viruses, as compared to SARS-CoV-2, are summarized in Table 2 .