Journal
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INFECTION CONTROL
Volume 50, Issue 8, Pages 863-870Publisher
MOSBY-ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2022.02.016
Keywords
Methylene blue; N95 respirator; Decontamination; COVID-19; Hemorrhagic fever virus; Photochemical inactivation
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Researchers demonstrated that photoactivated methylene blue is a cost-effective, rapid, and widely deployable method to decontaminate N95 respirators for reuse during supply shortages.
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a worldwide shortage of N95 respirators, prompting the devel-opment of decontamination methods to enable limited reuse. Countries lacking reliable supply chains would also benefit from the ability to safely reuse PPE. Methylene blue (MB) is a light-activated dye with demonstrated anti-microbial activity used to sterilize blood plasma. Decontamination of respirators using photoactivated MB requires no specialized equipment, making it attractive for use in the field during outbreaks.Methods: We examined decontamination of N95 and KN95 respirators using photoactivated MB and 3 var-iants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19; and 4 World Health Organization priority pathogens: Ebola virus, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, Nipah virus, and Lassa virus. Virus inactivation by pretreating respirator material was also tested.Results: Photoactivated MB inactivated all tested viruses on respirator material, albeit with varying effi-ciency. Virus applied to respirator material pre-treated with MB was also inactivated, thus MB pretreatment may potentially protect respirator wearers from virus exposure in real-time.Conclusions: These results demonstrate that photoactivated MB represents a cost-effective, rapid, and widely deployable method to decontaminate N95 respirators for reuse during supply shortages.(c) 2022 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc.
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