Rapid and reliable inactivation protocols for the diagnostics of emerging viruses: The example of SARS‐CoV‐2 and monkeypox virus

The emergence and sustained transmission of novel pathogens are exerting an increasing demand on the diagnostics sector worldwide, as seen with the ongoing severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) pandemic and the more recent public health concern of monkeypox virus (MPXV) since May 2022. Appropriate and reliable viral inactivation measures are needed to ensure the safety of personnel handling these infectious samples. In the present study, seven commercialized diagnosis buffers, heat (56°C and 60°C), and sodium dodecyl sulfate detergent (2.0%, 1.0%, and 0.5% final concentrations) were tested against infectious SARS‐CoV‐2 and MPXV culture isolates on Vero cell culture. Cytopathic effects were observed up to 7 days postinoculation and viral load evolution was measured by semiquantitative polymerase chain reaction. The World Health Organization recommends an infectious titer reduction of at least 4 log(10). As such, the data show efficacious SARS‐CoV‐2 inactivation by all investigated methods, with >6.0 log(10) reduction. MPXV inactivation was also validated with all investigated methods with 6.9 log(10) reductions, although some commercial buffers required a longer incubation period to yield complete inactivation. These results are valuable for facilities, notably those without biosafety level‐3 capabilities, that need to implement rapid and reliable protocols common against both SARS‐CoV‐2 and MPXV.