Human Coronavirus 229E Remains Infectious on Common Touch Surface Materials

ABSTRACT The evolution of new and reemerging historic virulent strains of respiratory viruses from animal reservoirs is a significant threat to human health. Inefficient human-to-human transmission of zoonotic strains may initially limit the spread of transmission, but an infection may be contracted...

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Autores principales:	Sarah L. Warnes, Zoë R. Little, C. William Keevil
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	American Society for Microbiology 2015
Materias:	Microbiology QR1-502
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/94efcc4840b94009bbed5ff59dbd4c5c
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:94efcc4840b94009bbed5ff59dbd4c5c2021-11-15T15:41:23ZHuman Coronavirus 229E Remains Infectious on Common Touch Surface Materials10.1128/mBio.01697-152150-7511https://doaj.org/article/94efcc4840b94009bbed5ff59dbd4c5c2015-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mBio.01697-15https://doaj.org/toc/2150-7511ABSTRACT The evolution of new and reemerging historic virulent strains of respiratory viruses from animal reservoirs is a significant threat to human health. Inefficient human-to-human transmission of zoonotic strains may initially limit the spread of transmission, but an infection may be contracted by touching contaminated surfaces. Enveloped viruses are often susceptible to environmental stresses, but the human coronaviruses responsible for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) have recently caused increasing concern of contact transmission during outbreaks. We report here that pathogenic human coronavirus 229E remained infectious in a human lung cell culture model following at least 5 days of persistence on a range of common nonbiocidal surface materials, including polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon; PTFE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), ceramic tiles, glass, silicone rubber, and stainless steel. We have shown previously that noroviruses are destroyed on copper alloy surfaces. In this new study, human coronavirus 229E was rapidly inactivated on a range of copper alloys (within a few minutes for simulated fingertip contamination) and Cu/Zn brasses were very effective at lower copper concentration. Exposure to copper destroyed the viral genomes and irreversibly affected virus morphology, including disintegration of envelope and dispersal of surface spikes. Cu(I) and Cu(II) moieties were responsible for the inactivation, which was enhanced by reactive oxygen species generation on alloy surfaces, resulting in even faster inactivation than was seen with nonenveloped viruses on copper. Consequently, copper alloy surfaces could be employed in communal areas and at any mass gatherings to help reduce transmission of respiratory viruses from contaminated surfaces and protect the public health. IMPORTANCE Respiratory viruses are responsible for more deaths globally than any other infectious agent. Animal coronaviruses that “host jump” to humans result in severe infections with high mortality, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and, more recently, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). We show here that a closely related human coronavirus, 229E, which causes upper respiratory tract infection in healthy individuals and serious disease in patients with comorbidities, remained infectious on surface materials common to public and domestic areas for several days. The low infectious dose means that this is a significant infection risk to anyone touching a contaminated surface. However, rapid inactivation, irreversible destruction of viral RNA, and massive structural damage were observed in coronavirus exposed to copper and copper alloy surfaces. Incorporation of copper alloy surfaces in conjunction with effective cleaning regimens and good clinical practice could help to control transmission of respiratory coronaviruses, including MERS and SARS.Sarah L. WarnesZoë R. LittleC. William KeevilAmerican Society for MicrobiologyarticleMicrobiologyQR1-502ENmBio, Vol 6, Iss 6 (2015)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Microbiology QR1-502
spellingShingle	Microbiology QR1-502 Sarah L. Warnes Zoë R. Little C. William Keevil Human Coronavirus 229E Remains Infectious on Common Touch Surface Materials
description	ABSTRACT The evolution of new and reemerging historic virulent strains of respiratory viruses from animal reservoirs is a significant threat to human health. Inefficient human-to-human transmission of zoonotic strains may initially limit the spread of transmission, but an infection may be contracted by touching contaminated surfaces. Enveloped viruses are often susceptible to environmental stresses, but the human coronaviruses responsible for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) have recently caused increasing concern of contact transmission during outbreaks. We report here that pathogenic human coronavirus 229E remained infectious in a human lung cell culture model following at least 5 days of persistence on a range of common nonbiocidal surface materials, including polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon; PTFE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), ceramic tiles, glass, silicone rubber, and stainless steel. We have shown previously that noroviruses are destroyed on copper alloy surfaces. In this new study, human coronavirus 229E was rapidly inactivated on a range of copper alloys (within a few minutes for simulated fingertip contamination) and Cu/Zn brasses were very effective at lower copper concentration. Exposure to copper destroyed the viral genomes and irreversibly affected virus morphology, including disintegration of envelope and dispersal of surface spikes. Cu(I) and Cu(II) moieties were responsible for the inactivation, which was enhanced by reactive oxygen species generation on alloy surfaces, resulting in even faster inactivation than was seen with nonenveloped viruses on copper. Consequently, copper alloy surfaces could be employed in communal areas and at any mass gatherings to help reduce transmission of respiratory viruses from contaminated surfaces and protect the public health. IMPORTANCE Respiratory viruses are responsible for more deaths globally than any other infectious agent. Animal coronaviruses that “host jump” to humans result in severe infections with high mortality, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and, more recently, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). We show here that a closely related human coronavirus, 229E, which causes upper respiratory tract infection in healthy individuals and serious disease in patients with comorbidities, remained infectious on surface materials common to public and domestic areas for several days. The low infectious dose means that this is a significant infection risk to anyone touching a contaminated surface. However, rapid inactivation, irreversible destruction of viral RNA, and massive structural damage were observed in coronavirus exposed to copper and copper alloy surfaces. Incorporation of copper alloy surfaces in conjunction with effective cleaning regimens and good clinical practice could help to control transmission of respiratory coronaviruses, including MERS and SARS.
format	article
author	Sarah L. Warnes Zoë R. Little C. William Keevil
author_facet	Sarah L. Warnes Zoë R. Little C. William Keevil
author_sort	Sarah L. Warnes
title	Human Coronavirus 229E Remains Infectious on Common Touch Surface Materials
title_short	Human Coronavirus 229E Remains Infectious on Common Touch Surface Materials
title_full	Human Coronavirus 229E Remains Infectious on Common Touch Surface Materials
title_fullStr	Human Coronavirus 229E Remains Infectious on Common Touch Surface Materials
title_full_unstemmed	Human Coronavirus 229E Remains Infectious on Common Touch Surface Materials
title_sort	human coronavirus 229e remains infectious on common touch surface materials
publisher	American Society for Microbiology
publishDate	2015
url	https://doaj.org/article/94efcc4840b94009bbed5ff59dbd4c5c
work_keys_str_mv	AT sarahlwarnes humancoronavirus229eremainsinfectiousoncommontouchsurfacematerials AT zoerlittle humancoronavirus229eremainsinfectiousoncommontouchsurfacematerials AT cwilliamkeevil humancoronavirus229eremainsinfectiousoncommontouchsurfacematerials
_version_	1718427717542608896

Human Coronavirus 229E Remains Infectious on Common Touch Surface Materials

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