Several years past, we were privy to a
series of evaluations, conducted by another institution, in which they were
unable to find a flu-like virus----from among a large number----which could
survive direct exposure to 10% acetic acid (common vinegar) combined with a
very weak surfactant (detergent); and less than 5% of these viruses could
survive an environment of 5% acetic acid. A majority of them were
completely unable to replicate in an environment presenting with acetic
acid concentrations as low as 3.75% .
One can only assume that the many gifted
research facilities addressing the SARS challenge......have tested----and
confirmed that SARS......unlike the flu-like viruses tested by this small
research group.....is immune to organic acid environments below %?
Sincerely, Brooks Bradley.
C Creel wrote:
> SARS can live on common surfaces
> By Rob Stein, The Washington Post
>
> The SARS virus can survive on common surfaces at room
> temperature for hours or even days, which could explain how
> people can catch the deadly lung infection without face-to-face
> contact with a sick person, scientists have found.
>
> NEW LABORATORY STUDIES, being released today, have
> produced the first scientific data on how long the SARS virus
> can live in various places and conditions, demonstrating for the
> first time that the microbe can linger outside an infected
> person's body.
> One study showed the virus survived for at least 24 hours on a
> plastic surface at room temperature, which suggests it might be
> possible to become infected from touching a tabletop,
> doorknob or other object. Another found the microbe remained
> viable for as long as four days in human waste, a crucial
> finding that could clarify how the virus can spread through
> apartment buildings, hospitals and other facilities.
>
> German scientists found a common detergent failed to kill the
> virus, indicating that some efforts to sterilize contaminated
> areas may be ineffective. An experiment conducted in Japan
> concluded that the virus could live for extended periods in the
> cold, suggesting it could survive the winter.
>
> The long-awaited findings should be crucial for containing the
> epidemic, and they could solve one of the most important
> mysteries about the new disease: how the virus spreads
> without direct exposure to infected individuals.
>
> "It's the first time we have hard data on the survival of the
> virus. Before, we were just speculating," Klaus Stohr, the
> World Health Organization's top SARS scientist, said
> yesterday. "There has been a lot of speculation that the
> touching of objects could be involved. This shows that
> transmission by contaminated hands or contaminated objects
> in the environment can play a role."
>
> In addition, the findings will help researchers develop better
> tests for the virus and possible treatments. Now that they know
> what temperatures kill the virus, researchers can purify serum
> from sick people to use in calibrating tests and possibly to give
> other patients as a therapy. Serum contains antibodies that are
> measured by tests. In addition, the antibodies could work as a
> treatment if they can neutralize the virus.
>
> CASES INCREASE
> The new data come as the number of cases continues to
> increase. An additional 191 cases and 18 deaths were reported
> yesterday, bringing the toll to 6,234 cases in 27 countries, and
> 435 deaths, according to the WHO. Outbreaks appear to be
> under control in Hanoi, Hong Kong, Singapore and Toronto,
> but the disease was still spreading in many parts of China, and
> Taiwan has experienced a sharp jump in cases in the past
> week.
>
> U.S. health officials are investigating 54 probable cases in this
> country, including three in Virginia, and are monitoring an
> additional 237 suspected cases.
>
> The results were produced by laboratories in Hong Kong,
> Japan, Germany and Beijing that are part of a scientific
> network organized by WHO to study the previously unknown
> virus. The findings were compiled and analyzed over the past
> few days and were to be posted on WHO's Web site today so
> public health workers around the world can begin using them
> to keep the virus from spreading, said Stohr, who described the
> findings in a telephone interview.
>
> "These studies are very important for designing strategies for
> cleaning and disinfecting," Stohr said.
>
> Stohr stressed that a key unknown is how much virus is
> necessary for someone to become infected. So even though the
> virus can survive in the environment, it remains unknown
> whether it can survive in sufficient quantities to be dangerous,
> he said.
>
> "What we're seeing is that this virus certainly has the capacity
> to stay in the environment. What we don't know is the
> infectious dose," he said.
>
> Stohr also emphasized that by far, the primary mode of
> transmission was through droplets that spray out when an
> infected person sneezes or coughs.
>
> ALTERNATIVE TRANSMISSION ROUTES
> But researchers had become increasingly suspicious that there
> were alternative transmission routes because of incidents in
> which people became infected without close personal contact
> with a sick person.
>
> The most disturbing case involved a 33-story apartment tower
> in the Amoy Gardens complex in Hong Kong. Hundreds of
> people living in the building were infected, forcing authorities
> to evacuate the residents to quarantine camps.
>
> An intensive investigation concluded that the outbreak may
> have been caused by a man who caught SARS, developed
> diarrhea and used his brother's bathroom in the building.
> Investigators found a small crack in a sewage pipe in the
> building and speculated that the virus spread through the
> building in droplets that became airborne from the leak.
>
> "There has been a lot of speculation about how the Amoy
> Gardens got infected. No one knew whether the hypothesis
> would hold. This would support the theory that ... sewage
> coming out from that crack could have contaminated the air,"
> Stohr said.
>
> In the new research, scientists in Hong Kong mixed virus into
> normal human adult feces and diarrhea, as well as feces from a
> 6-month-old baby. The virus survived in the baby's feces for
> three hours, in normal feces for six hours, and in diarrhea for
> four days. The difference appears to be the acidity -- the virus
> survives longer as the acidity decreases, Stohr said.
>
> "This is important, because traces of stool could occur on
> surfaces in hospitals. So this is very important to know in
> sterilizing those environments," Stohr said.
>
> In another set of studies, scientists in Japan examined how
> well the virus weathered extreme temperatures. The virus died
> at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit and above, started to deteriorate at
> 40 degrees but seemed to remain viable indefinitely when
> temperatures dropped to 32 degrees. Scientists in Beijing
> produced similar results.
>
> "This means that if the virus is being kept at lower
> temperatures, we have to think about next winter," Stohr said.
>
> German researchers, meanwhile, placed the virus on a plastic
> surface at room temperature and found it could survive as long
> as 24 hours. "It survived easily," Stohr said. Another team in
> Hong Kong produced similar results.
>
> The German scientists also found that a commonly used
> detergent appeared to have little effect on the virus. The U.S.
> Environmental Protection Agency is planning a large-scale
> study to test a large number of disinfectants against the virus,
> Stohr said.
>
> Other teams in Singapore and Hong Kong have also been
> testing the virus's ability to survive in various temperatures and
> levels of humidity; in blood; and on metals, plastics, paper and
> cotton. Those results could come within days, Stohr said.
>
> "We're beginning to understand how this virus can survive in
> the environment," he said.
>
> --
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