Pseudorabies virus has been widely infected in pig farms in many countries around the world. As early as 1902, Hungarian microbiologists paid attention to and described the disease. Pseudorabies is caused by pseudorabies virus (PRV) of the herpesvirus family, which causes neurological symptoms in piglets , respiratory symptoms in adult pigs, and reproductive disorders such as coughing, fever, abortion, mummified fetuses, and stillbirths in sows, and testicular swelling and reduced breeding performance in boars. Since pseudorabies virus has a huge impact on China's pig farming industry, it will be transmitted through nasal fluid, saliva, milk, vaginal secretions, blood and solid organs, so disinfection is one of the key measures for pig farms to purify pseudorabies. The most commonly used disinfection methods are biological, chemical and physical disinfection. Chemical disinfection has the advantages of simple acquisition, economic convenience, fast action speed and wide bactericidal spectrum, and is used in various links of prevention and control and feeding management in pig farms. At present, there are many types of chemical disinfectants (chlorine-containing, peroxide-containing, aldehyde-containing, alcohol-containing, iodine-containing, phenolic, biguanide-containing and quaternary ammonium salt disinfectants, etc.) on the market. The physical and chemical properties of various disinfectants are different, and there are many environmental interference factors in the actual disinfection site. In the daily monitoring of epidemic diseases, the fluorescent PCR method used is convenient, fast, and low-cost, and is used by the majority of farmers. It is also one of the most commonly used methods for clinical detection of pseudorabies virus. Therefore, the use of fluorescent PCR to detect nucleic acid residues after disinfection can evaluate the effect of disinfectants in large quantities, quickly and in multiple dimensions . This experiment uses pseudorabies virus as the research object and uses fluorescent PCR detection technology to explore the degradation effect of effective disinfection products on viral nucleic acids under different disinfectant concentrations, disinfection times, disinfection temperatures, and simulated different disinfection scenarios, providing a scientific theoretical basis for epidemic purification and epidemic prevention disinfection in farms.
Chemical properties and disinfection principles of hypochlorous acid
Hypochlorous acid (HClO) is a highly effective oxidative disinfectant with small molecules and no charge, which can penetrate the cell membrane of microorganisms or viral capsules. Its mechanism of action includes:
Oxidative damage to nucleic acids and proteins: Hypochlorous acid undergoes an oxidative reaction with viral nucleic acids (DNA/RNA), capsid proteins, and enzyme systems, leading to nucleic acid chain breakage and protein denaturation.
Physical destruction of membrane structure: changing the permeability of the viral envelope through high oxidation potential, destroying the lipid bilayer structure, and making the virus lose its infectivity.
Synergistic effect of new ecological oxygen: Reactive oxygen produced by the decomposition of hypochlorous acid further accelerates the inactivation of pathogens.
Comparison with other chlorine-containing disinfectants
Traditional chlorine-containing disinfectants (such as 84 disinfectant) are mainly based on hypochlorite (ClO⁻), which relies on hydrolysis to generate hypochlorous acid to work. Hypochlorous acid disinfectant directly provides HClO, which reacts faster and has stronger penetration.
Degradation of PRV nucleic acid by hypochlorous acid
Experimental data support:
In the study of African swine fever virus (ASFV), hypochlorous acid disinfectant (effective chlorine concentration 200 ppm) significantly reduced the viral nucleic acid load, and the nucleic acid Ct value increased by 6 units after treatment, indicating a significant nucleic acid degradation effect.
Studies on polio virus have shown that 250 mg/L hypochlorous acid can completely inactivate the virus after 10 minutes of exposure, and nucleic acid degradation and protein oxidation occur simultaneously.
Regarding PRV, experiments conducted by Hokkaido University of Agriculture in Japan showed that the inactivation rate of PRV by acidic electrolyzed water (containing hypochlorous acid) exceeded 99.99%, and the effective chlorine concentration was positively correlated with the treatment time.
Degradation mechanism analysis
Hypochlorous acid oxidizes the bases (such as guanine) and phosphate backbones in the DNA chain, causing chain breaks and cross-links. The high GC content of the PRV genome may enhance its sensitivity to oxidative damage.
Evaluation of the disinfection effect of hypochlorous acid on PRV
Inactivation efficiency and condition optimization
Concentration and time: Studies have shown that 100-200 ppm hypochlorous acid can completely inactivate SARS-CoV-2 in 1 minute. For PRV, 50-200 ppm hypochlorous acid can achieve a 99.99% inactivation rate within 10-30 minutes, and dilution to 1:10 still maintains significant effect.
Environmental interference factors: Organic matter (such as serum, tissue fragments) may consume available chlorine, and the concentration needs to be increased to above 200 ppm to maintain the effect.
Evaluation Criteria
According to the Technical Specifications for Disinfection, qualified disinfection must meet the following requirements:
Inactivation rate ≥99.9%: verified by cell infectivity test or plaque reduction assay.
Verification of nucleic acid degradation: Use qPCR or droplet digital PCR to detect a decrease in nucleic acid load of ≥3 log10.
Application suggestions and precautions
Actual application scenarios
Farms and pet environments: It is recommended to use 50-200 ppm hypochlorous acid solution with an action time of 10-30 minutes, which is suitable for disinfection of pens, equipment and environments.
Laboratory contamination treatment: For PRV-contaminated areas, spray or immersion disinfection can be used, and cleaning agents (such as chlorine dioxide) can be used to enhance the effect.
Safety and environmental protection
Hypochlorous acid disinfectant has low irritation to the skin and mucous membranes, its acute oral toxicity is "practically non-toxic", and its decomposition products are water, oxygen and trace chlorides, which meets environmental protection requirements.
Summarize
Hypochlorous acid disinfectant destroys PRV nucleic acid and envelope protein through oxidation, achieving high efficiency inactivation (more than 99.99%). Its effect is affected by concentration, action time and environmental organic matter. Combined with nucleic acid degradation verification and inactivation rate standards, hypochlorous acid can be used as a safe choice for PRV prevention and control, especially in the breeding industry and household pet environments.
As the world's leading manufacturer of hypochlorous acid generators, BLUEWAV's advanced hypochlorous acid generation technology provides strong support for this research. BLUEWAV
About BLUEWAV:
BLUEWAV is a leading global manufacturer of hypochlorous acid generators, dedicated to providing efficient and environmentally friendly disinfection solutions for industries such as medical, animal husbandry, food processing, and water treatment. The company's products are known for their advanced technology, stable performance and easy operation, and are trusted by users around the world. The hypochlorous acid generator we developed can efficiently and stably generate high-purity hypochlorous acid solution, ensuring the quality and effectiveness of the disinfectant. This technology, combined with the excellent performance of hypochlorous acid disinfectant, provides a new solution for the prevention and control of pseudorabies virus.
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