Survival and disinfection of adenovirus type 19 and enterovirus 70 in ophthalmic practice.

In an experimental model designed to simulate actual clinical situations, the risk period of adenovirus type 19 (AdV-19) and enterovirus 70 (EV-70) transmission by contaminated instruments has been investigated, as well as the effective methods of disinfection against these viruses. No EV-70 could be detected 6 hours after inoculation on applanation tips contaminated with viruses and naturally dried, indicating that drying the instruments and keeping them in a moisture-free environment is a convenient disinfection procedure against EV-70. In contrast, AdV-19 maintained its initial infectious level for 11 days on contaminated and subsequently dried tips. Both viruses when placed in eyedrop solutions at room temperature sustained their infectivity for more than 20 days. It was found that heating at 90 degrees C for 5 seconds is the most simple and effective disinfection against AdV-19 and EV-70. AdV-19 was about 60 times more resistant to ultraviolet irradiation than EV-70.