Routine Decontamination of Surfaces Relevant to Working Dogs: Neutralization of Superficial Coronavirus Contamination

Given the increased deployment of working dogs to settings with pathogenic biological agents, a safe, effective, and logistically feasible surface decontamination protocol is essential to protect both the animals and their human handlers. Our group previously found that superficial contamination on...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Animals (Basel) 2022-07, Vol.12 (14), p.1823
Main Authors: Grady, Sarah L, Sebeck, Natalie M, Theodore, Mellisa, Meidenbauer, Karen L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
biological hazards
Chlorhexidine
Collars
Contamination
coronavirus
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Decontamination
Disease transmission
Dogs
Experiments
Handlers
Humidity
Infections
Isopropanol
Isopropyl alcohol
Leather
Neutralization
Pandemics
Physical characteristics
Physical properties
Porosity
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
surface decontamination
Surface layers
Surface properties
Toys
virus neutralization
Viruses
working dogs
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Summary:Given the increased deployment of working dogs to settings with pathogenic biological agents, a safe, effective, and logistically feasible surface decontamination protocol is essential to protect both the animals and their human handlers. Our group previously found that superficial contamination on surfaces relevant to the working dog community, including leashes and toys, could be significantly reduced using a standardized wiping protocol with various cleansing products. To expand upon this work, we analyzed the ability of this protocol to decontaminate surface-deposited bovine coronavirus, which was used as a BSL2 surrogate for SARS-CoV-2. Unsurprisingly, the physical characteristics of a given surface, including porosity and texture, had a significant effect on the ability to recover viable virus remaining on the surface post treatment. After correcting for these differences, however, wiping with 70% isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and 0.5% chlorhexidine performed best, reducing viral titers by >3 log on plastic bumper toys and nylon collars, and by >2 log on rubber toys and tennis balls. Leather leashes and Velcro proved more difficult to decontaminate, but both still showed significant loss of viral contamination following wiping with IPA or chlorhexidine. This work (i) validates the utility of a simple protocol for the neutralization of viruses on several surfaces, (ii) identifies materials that are more difficult to decontaminate, which should, thus, be considered for removal from field use, and (iii) highlights the need for further development of protocols testing porous or textured surfaces.
ISSN:2076-2615
2076-2615
DOI:10.3390/ani12141823