Susceptibility of salmonid alphavirus to a range of chemical disinfectants

A range of commercially available disinfectants were tested for efficacy against salmonid alphavirus under a range of different conditions including variations in concentration, temperature, contact time, water type and presence or absence of organic matter. Testing was based on the protocol defined in the draft European Standard prEN 14675, for which the effective standard is a 4 log(10) reduction in viral titre. All disinfectants were found to be effective under at least some of the conditions tested. However, the presence of organic matter in particular was shown to be detrimental in some cases, either through rendering some disinfectants ineffective, or by production of a visible inhomogeneity.