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It has previously been reported that both 2 percent alkaline glutaraldehyde and alcohol can inactivate HIV in aqueous solutions. However, one cannot assume that because a disinfectant is effective against aqueous HIV it will also be effective against dried HIV. Infectious virus has been recovered from dried human plasma after three days, and dried HIV can therefore pose a risk to health care workers.
Hanson and colleagues tested the effectiveness of 1 and 2 percent glutaraldehyde, 70 percent industrial methylated spirit, and 70 percent ethanol in inactivating HIV. The virus, both cell-free and cell-associated, was dried onto coverslips that were then submerged in the disinfectants for varying amounts of time, ranging from 30 seconds to 20 mi…