Survival of Viral Biowarfare Agents in Disinfected Waters

Abstract

Protecting civilian and military water supplies has received more attention since the United States began its war on terror in 2001. Both chlorine and bromine are used by branches of the U.S. military for disinfecting water supplies; however, limited data exists as to the effectiveness of these additives when used against viral biowarfare agents. The present study sought to evaluate the survival of selected viral biothreat agents in disinfected water. Disinfected water samples were spiked with vaccinia virus strain WR and Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE) virus strain TC-83 each separately to a final concentration of approximately 1 10(exp 6) PFU/mL, and survival was assessed by plaque assay. Both viruses were inactivated by 1 mg/L free available chlorine (FAC) and 2mg/L total bromine within one hour. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that both chlorine and bromine are effective disinfectants against vaccinia virus and VEE strain TC-83 at the concentrations tested.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 2010
Accession Number
ADA534628

Entities

People

  • Alan W. Zulich
  • Amanda E. Chambers
  • Joseph M. Insalsco
  • Mary M. Wade

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Biological Sciences
  • Bromine
  • Cell Line
  • Cells
  • Chlorine
  • Culture Techniques
  • Disinfectants
  • Encephalitis
  • Equine Encephalitis
  • Materials
  • Microbiology
  • National Security
  • Poxviridae Infections
  • Security
  • Survival
  • Viruses
  • Water Supplies

Readers

  • Environmental Engineering
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Virology (or Medical Virology).