RAPID: On-site Disinfection and Survival of Ebola and Other Viruses in Human Fecal Wastes and Sewage

University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC

Investigators

Abstract

1521918 Sobsey RAPID: On-site Disinfection and Survival of Ebola and Other Viruses in Human Fecal Wastes and Sewage There is a critical and urgent need for quantitative data on the survival and rapid, onsite chemical disinfection of Ebola virus and surrogate/indicator viruses in feces and raw sewage, as no such data currently exist. Data on both survival and chemical disinfection of Ebola virus and surrogates/indicators for it will provide quantitative information to assess the risks posed by Ebola virus in fecal waste and raw sewage and to determine if the risks can be reduced effectively by on-site, rapid chemical disinfection. No previous studies have ever compared systematically the range of chemical disinfectants to be used here for inactivation of Ebola or other surrogate/indicator viruses. The project will provide critical and timely quantitative information on the survival and rapid on-site chemical disinfection of a mutant Ebola virus and several candidate indicator/surrogate viruses in feces and raw sewage. The objectives of this study are to: (1) do batch laboratory-scale experiments to quantify and characterize the rate and extent of inactivation of the infectivity of a mutant Ebola virus strain as well as surrogate/indicator viruses, both enveloped and non-enveloped) in feces and raw sewage at two temperatures (37C and a room temperature of ~23C) under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions, and, (2) to determine the rate and extent of inactivation of the infectivity of these viruses in feces and raw sewage by batch disinfection with different doses of the following disinfectants: free chlorine, 2 quaternary ammonium compounds, peracetic acid, lime (calcium hydroxide), a phenolic compound and an anionic detergent. The mutant Ebola virus strain that is not infectious for humans or animals but grows and can be assayed for infectivity in a genetically modified cell line will be used along with the following surrogate/indicator viruses: an animal coronavirus (Transmissible Gastroenteritis Virus of Swine), an avian influenza virus strain, an enveloped bacteriophage (Phi6) and 2 non-enveloped bacteriophages of E. coli (MS2 and PhiX-174).