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Title: Physicochemical inactivation of Lassa, Ebola, and Marburg viruses and effect on clinical laboratory analyses

Journal Article · · J. Clin. Microbiol.; (United States)
OSTI ID:5707653

Clinical specimens from patients infected with Lassa, Ebola, or Marburg virus may present a serious biohazard to laboratory workers. The authors have examined the effects of heat, alteration of pH, and gamma radiation on these viruses in human blood and on the electrolytes, enzymes, and coagulation factors measured in laboratory tests that are important in the care of an infected patient. Heating serum at 60 degrees C for 1 h reduced high titers of these viruses to noninfectious levels without altering the serum levels of glucose, blood urea nitrogen, and electrolytes. Dilution of blood in 3% acetic acid, diluent for a leukocyte count, inactivated all of these viruses. All of the methods tested for viral inactivation markedly altered certain serum proteins, making these methods unsuitable for samples that are to be tested for certain enzyme levels and coagulation factors.

Research Organization:
Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA
OSTI ID:
5707653
Journal Information:
J. Clin. Microbiol.; (United States), Vol. 20:3
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English