Virucidal effect of UV light on hepatitis a virus in sea water: evaluation with cell culture and RT-PCR

Abstract

Virucidal effect of UV light on hepatitis A virus was investigated in artificial sea water. Infectious virus was no longer detectable after 15 min irradiation of 3 liter experimentally contaminated water. Genomic amplification by polymerase chain reaction after reverse transcription allowed the detection of viral RNA in all samples even after 60 min irradiation.