The infection of health care workers during the 2013 to 2016 Ebola outbreak raised concerns about fomite transmission. In the wake of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, investigations are ongoing to determine the role of fomites in coronavirus transmission as well. The bacteriophage phi 6 has a phospholipid envelope and is commonly used in environmental studies as a surrogate for human enveloped viruses. The persistence of phi 6 was evaluated as a surrogate for Ebola virus (EBOV) and coronaviruses on porous and nonporous hospital surfaces. Phi 6 was suspended in a body fluid simulant and inoculated onto 1-cm² coupons of steel, plastic, and two fabric curtain types. The coupons were placed at two controlled absolute humidity (AH) levels: a low AH of 3.0 g/m³ and a high AH of 14.4 g/m³. Phi 6 declined at a lower rate on all materials under low-AH conditions, with a decay rate of 0.06-log₁₀ PFU/day to 0.11-log₁₀ PFU/day, than under the higher AH conditions, with a decay rate of 0.65-log₁₀ PFU/h to 1.42-log₁₀ PFU/day. There was a significant difference in decay rates between porous and nonporous surfaces at both low AH (P < 0.0001) and high AH (P < 0.0001). Under these laboratory-simulated conditions, phi 6 was found to be a conservative surrogate for EBOV under low-AH conditions in that it persisted longer than Ebola virus in similar AH conditions. Additionally, some coronaviruses persist longer than phi 6 under similar conditions; therefore, phi 6 may not be a suitable surrogate for coronaviruses.

中文翻译：

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噬菌体 Phi 6 在多孔和无孔表面上的持久性及其用作埃博拉病毒或冠状病毒替代物的潜力。


2013年至2016年埃博拉疫情期间医护人员的感染引发了人们对污染物传播的担忧。 2019 年冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 大流行后，正在进行调查以确定污染物在冠状病毒传播中的作用。噬菌体 phi 6 具有磷脂包膜，通常在环境研究中用作人类包膜病毒的替代品。 phi 6 的持久性被评估为埃博拉病毒 (EBOV) 和冠状病毒在多孔和无孔医院表面上的替代物。将Phi 6悬浮在体液模拟物中并接种到钢、塑料和两种织物窗帘类型的1cm ²试片上。将试样置于两个受控绝对湿度(AH)水平：3.0 g/m ³的低AH和14.4 g/m ³的高AH。在低 AH 条件下，所有材料的 Phi 6 下降率均较低，衰减率为 0.06-log ₁₀ PFU/天至 0.11-log ₁₀ PFU/天，而在较高 AH 条件下，衰减率为 0.65 -log ₁₀ PFU/小时至 1.42-log ₁₀ PFU/天。在低 AH ( P < 0.0001) 和高 AH ( P < 0.0001) 下，多孔表面和无孔表面之间的衰减率存在显着差异。在这些实验室模拟条件下，发现 phi 6 在低 AH 条件下是 EBOV 的保守替代品，因为它在类似 AH 条件下比埃博拉病毒持续时间更长。此外，在类似条件下，一些冠状病毒的持续时间超过 phi 6；因此，phi 6 可能不是冠状病毒的合适替代品。