Heat sensitivity of a SARS‐associated coronavirus introduced into plasma products

Yunoki, M.; Urayama, T.; Yamamoto, I.; Abe, S.; Ikuta, K.

Background and Objectives Various measures to inactivate/remove viruses have been implemented for manufacturing plasma‐derived products. Here, we examined the heat inactivation ability of an agent of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), SARS coronavirus (CoV). Materials and Methods The Frankfurt‐1 strain of SARS‐CoV was incorporated in manufacturing processes of several products by using samples collected immediately before liquid heat treatment at 60 °C. Results SARS‐CoV was easily inactivated by this treatment for 60 min in all in‐process samples. However, the different composition of the tested samples affected the heat sensitivity of the virus strain: the infectivity of the virus in Antithrombin III preparation still remained after heating for 30 min at 60 °C. Conclusion If by rare chance SARS‐CoV contaminates source plasma, there should be no or only minor risk of this virus infection, due to sufficient inactivation by the 60 °C 10 h liquid heating step, although we must pay attention to the composition used for blood product preparation.