Considerations for the Selection and Use of Disinfectants Against SARS-CoV-2 in a Health Care Setting

Kevin Tyan; Adriane Levin; Alejandra Avalos-Pacheco; Deborah Plana; Eleanor A Rand; Helen Yang; Laura E Maliszewski; Lily A Chylek; Lyla Atta; Mark A Tye; Mary M Carmack; N Synclaire Oglesby; Susan Burgin; Sherry H Yu; Nicole R LeBoeuf; Jacqueline M Kemp

doi:10.1093/ofid/ofaa396

Considerations for the Selection and Use of Disinfectants Against SARS-CoV-2 in a Health Care Setting

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2020 Aug 31;7(9):ofaa396. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofaa396. eCollection 2020 Sep.

Authors

Kevin Tyan^{1

2}, Adriane Levin^{1

3}, Alejandra Avalos-Pacheco^{1

4

5}, Deborah Plana^{1

6

7}, Eleanor A Rand^{1

8}, Helen Yang^{1

4}, Laura E Maliszewski^{1

4

9

10}, Lily A Chylek^{1

10}, Lyla Atta^{1

11}, Mark A Tye^{1

12

13}, Mary M Carmack^{1

4

14}, N Synclaire Oglesby^{1

9}, Susan Burgin^{1

2

15}, Sherry H Yu^{1

16}, Nicole R LeBoeuf^{1

3

5}, Jacqueline M Kemp^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Greater Boston Pandemic Fabrication Team (PanFab) c/o Harvard-MIT Center for Regulatory Science, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
² Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
³ Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
⁴ Harvard-MIT Center for Regulatory Science, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
⁵ Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
⁶ Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
⁷ Harvard Ludwig Cancer Research Center and Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
⁸ Harvard University Department of Systems Biology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
⁹ Harvard Program in Therapeutic Science, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
¹⁰ Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology, Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
¹¹ Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
¹² Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
¹³ Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Systems Biology, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
¹⁴ Computational Health Informatics Program, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
¹⁵ Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Dermatology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Abstract

Proper disinfection using adequate disinfecting agents will be necessary for infection control strategies against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, limited guidance exists on effective surface disinfectants or best practices for their use against severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2. We outlined a process of fully characterizing over 350 products on the Environmental Protection Agency List N, including pH, method of delivery, indication for equipment sterilization, and purchase availability. We then developed a streamlined set of guidelines to help rapidly evaluate and select suitable disinfectants from List N, including practicality, efficacy, safety, and cost/availability. This resource guides the evaluation of ideal disinfectants amidst practical considerations posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; EPA; List N; disinfectant; infection control; surface disinfection.

Abstract

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