Is Virkon™S effective as a disinfectant against the Coronavirus?

The human sector is one of the many sectors where Virkon™S can be applied. Due to its proven effectiveness against virtually all pathogenic microorganisms, Virkon™S is considered the primary disinfectant in many Dutch and Belgian laboratories/hospitals. Numerous efficacy studies confirm the efficacy of Virkon™S, including against various coronavirus strains.

Coronaviruses (CoV) are a subfamily of viruses that include MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV. Due to its effectiveness against coronaviruses, Virkon™S was widely used during the SARS and MERS outbreaks in 2015 in Saudi Arabia and South Korea, as well as during the Olympic Games in South Korea where the Norovirus was prevalent.

In an independent test, Virkon™S achieved the inactivation of a MERS virus strain in a 1% solution with a contact time of 10 minutes.

Coronaviruses (CoVs) occur in both humans and animals, and they typically infect only one specific host species or a closely related group. However, the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) that emerged in December 2019 in the Wuhan region of China is an exception to this rule. Human infections are associated with a seafood market in Wuhan, where live animals are also illegally traded. The 2019-nCoV is therefore highly likely to have been transmitted from animal to human.

Virkon™S has been proven effective against a wide range of viruses from the Coronaviridae family (Table 2). Due to the proven effectiveness of Virkon™S against a broad range of coronavirus strains, it is highly likely that disinfection with Virkon™S is also effective against the novel coronavirus (2019-nCov).