Residual Sanitization of Three Human Respiratory Viruses on a Hard, Non-Porous Surface

Human pathogenic viruses that are present in bioaerosols released by coughing, sneezing, or breathing can contaminate fomites and other inanimate environmental surfaces. Most are enveloped respiratory viruses that are vulnerable to inactivation by a broad spectrum of antimicrobial actives. Quaternary ammonium compounds are highly diverse in structure and are among the most widely utilized antimicrobial agents. The objective of this study was to evaluate two commercially available, ready-to-use quaternary ammonium compound-based disinfectants (one of which also contains a surface binding agent) for antiviral activity against Influenza A (H1N1), human coronavirus 229E, and SARS-CoV-2 (Washington) following a rigorous procedure of wear and abrasions with regular re-inoculations of virus in the presence of a 6% organic soil load. Formulation TF-A demonstrated variable residual efficacy against the three viruses, achieving log 10 reductions of 1.62, 3.33, and 0.92, respectively. Formulation TF-B lowered each test virus by greater than 3-log 10 to non-detectable levels on all carriers in demonstration of residual antiviral activity.