Journal Article
SARS-CoV-2 is rapidly inactivated at high temperature
Jennifer Biryukov; Jeremy A. Boydston; Rebecca A. Dunning; John J. Yeager; Stewart Wood; Allison Ferris; David Miller; Wade Weaver; Nathalie E. Zeitouni; Denise Freeburger; Paul Dabisch; Victoria Wahl; Michael C. Hevey; Louis A. Altamura
Environmental Chemistry Letters · Vol. 19, Issue 2 · pp. 1773-1777 · 2021
Abstract
In the absence of a vaccine, preventing the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the primary means to reduce the impact of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Multiple studies have reported the presence of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material on surfaces suggesting that fomite transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is feasible. High temperature inactivation of virus has been previously suggested, but not shown. In the present study, we investigated the environmental stability of SARS-CoV-2 in a clinically relevant matrix dried onto stainless steel at a high temperature. The results show that at 54.5 °C, the virus half-life was 10.8 ± 3.0 min and the time for a 90% decrease in infectivity was 35.4 ± 9.0 min. These findings suggest that in instances where the environment can reach temperatures of at least 54.5 °C, such as in vehicle interior cabins when parked in warmer ambient air, that the potential for exposure to infectious virus on surfaces could be decreased substantially in under an hour.