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The survival of herpes simplex virus in multidose office ophthalmic solutions
E G Romanowski1, D A Barnhorst, R P Kowalski
1Department of Ophthalmology, The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania, USA. ericr@vision.eei.upmc.edu
Purpose:
To determine the survival of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in several multidose ophthalmic solutions.
Methods:
In three separate trials, 10 aliquots of 5 ml each of three common multidose topical ophthalmic solutions, sodium fluorescein, proparacaine, and nonpreserved artificial tears, were inoculated with 10(5), 10(4), and 10(3) pfu per ml of HSV-1. All samples were titered on A549 cells at various time points for surviving HSV-1.
Results:
Herpes simplex virus type 1 was not recovered from the fluorescein and proparacaine solutions at 1 hour or any time thereafter, regardless of inoculation titer. Herpes simplex virus type 1 was recovered from the artificial tears up to 7 days.
Conclusion:
Unlike adenovirus, HSV-1 does not survive in preserved fluorescein and proparacaine multidose solutions; therefore, office transmission is highly unlikely.