THE SURVIVAL OF VIRUSES AT LOW TEMPERATURES

Abstract

Sanitary facilities in polar regions are often very primitive, and disposal practices may be haphazard and random. The resultant potential hazard to the health of personnel in the polar environment has received little attention and is generally underestimated; consequently, a laboratory investigation was instigated on the survival of viruses at low temperatures. The results of this preliminary study show that viruses in sewage frozen at temperatures as low as -40C remain viable, and may even increase in number. After 4 months of storage at temperatures as low as -33C, 10 to 20% of the viruses remained infective. That any viruses remained for any period of time is significant since very minute amounts of enteroviruses can initiate disease in humans. Because so little is known on the survival of viruses at low temperatures, additional research is needed to delineate more completely the circumstances under which viruses do survive and, hence, constitute a menace to health.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1968
Accession Number
AD0826371

Entities

People

  • Gray L. Wilcox
  • Nancy S. Stehle
  • Thomas B. O'neill

Organizations

  • Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Bacteria
  • Cells
  • Civil Engineering
  • Deoxyribonucleic Acids
  • Diseases And Disorders
  • Engineering
  • Groundwater
  • Materials
  • Medical Personnel
  • Pathogenic Bacteria
  • Polar Regions
  • Poliomyelitis
  • Viral Structures
  • Virion
  • Virus Diseases
  • Viruses
  • Water Supplies

Readers

  • Environmental Engineering.
  • Plasma Physics.
  • Virology (or Medical Virology).