Inactivation of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus by Commercially Available Disinfectants and Cleaners

Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is an animal pathogen of great concern. It is contagious to cloven-hoofed animals and affects animals in extensive areas worldwide. In general, the primary eradication strategies for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Japan are stamping out the disease and restriction of movement. It is also important to completely disinfect the infected area to prevent the spread of FMDV, including vehicles and people as well. However, there is no report on the effect of commercially available disinfectants against FMDV in a short contact time. In this study, we evaluated the virucidal effect of thirteen commercially available products, and got the following results: acidic ethanol disinfectants, alkaline cleaners and sodium hypochlorite had great effect (>3.0 log10 reduction in titer) against FMDV. On the other hand, neutral ethanol disinfectants, hand soaps, and quaternary ammonium compound sanitizers did not show great effect against FMDV. Therefore, it is presumed that acidic ethanol disinfectants are effective for human use and alkaline cleaners are effective for use in the infected environment for the control of a FMD outbreak.