Purpose: To evaluate the effect of disinfectant against human adenovirus (HAdV) using a real-time polymerase chain reaction method.
Methods: Ethanol, povidone-iodine, and sodium hypochlorite were mixed with HAdV-3, -4, -8, -19, and -37. A diluted mixed solution was infected with A549 cells for six days and then the number of HAdV DNA copies was counted. A reduction in the number of HAdV DNA copyies by 4 log was considered as virucidal activity.
Results: Ethanol at 80% concentration was effective against all serotypes after ten minutes, but 70% and 40% concentrations of ethanol were ineffective against all serotypes. Povidone-iodine at 0.2% concentration was effective against HAdV-3, -4, -19, and -37 after one minute, and against HAdV-8 after three minutes. Sodium hypochlorite (0.1% concentration) was effective against all serotypes after 15 seconds.
Conclusion: While all disinfectants were effective against HAdV, the effective concentration percentages and the times required were different, which indicates the importance of deliberating on the concentration, application time and location to apply the disinfectant, and what equipment to use for application.