Heat Treatment as a Safe-Handling Procedure for Rift Valley Fever Virus

Rift Valley Fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-borne virus with high pathogenic potential in ruminants and humans. Due to its high potential for spreading, it is considered a priority pathogen, and it is included in the Bluepoint list of the World Health Organization (WHO). Given the high pathogenic p...

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Main Authors: Maria Anele Romeo, Eliana Specchiarello, Cosmina Mija, Verdiana Zulian, Massimo Francalancia, Fabrizio Maggi, Anna Rosa Garbuglia, Daniele Lapa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-12-01
Series:Pathogens
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/13/12/1089
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author Maria Anele Romeo
Eliana Specchiarello
Cosmina Mija
Verdiana Zulian
Massimo Francalancia
Fabrizio Maggi
Anna Rosa Garbuglia
Daniele Lapa
author_facet Maria Anele Romeo
Eliana Specchiarello
Cosmina Mija
Verdiana Zulian
Massimo Francalancia
Fabrizio Maggi
Anna Rosa Garbuglia
Daniele Lapa
author_sort Maria Anele Romeo
collection DOAJ
description Rift Valley Fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-borne virus with high pathogenic potential in ruminants and humans. Due to its high potential for spreading, it is considered a priority pathogen, and it is included in the Bluepoint list of the World Health Organization (WHO). Given the high pathogenic potential of the virus, it is crucial to develop a rapid heat-mediated inactivation protocol to create a safer working environment, particularly in medical facilities that lack a biosafety level 3 laboratory required for direct handling of RVFV. Our results reveal the broad tissue tropism of RVFV, showing the virus’s capacity for replication in various cell lines. In terms of the thermal stability of RVFV, our findings showed that a 70 °C heat treatment did not fully inactivate the virus within 15 min. However, when exposed to 80 °C and 95 °C, the virus was completely inactivated after 15 min and 5 min, respectively. Additionally, our results indicated that heat-treatment only slightly decreased the integrity of the RVFV genome whether there is a high or low number of viral RNA copies. Overall, the study established a straightforward protocol for heat inactivation that may be beneficial in handling clinical and research samples of RVFV.
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spelling doaj-art-2e11ecdb543a4a20abdce6757196af1d2024-12-27T14:45:22ZengMDPI AGPathogens2076-08172024-12-011312108910.3390/pathogens13121089Heat Treatment as a Safe-Handling Procedure for Rift Valley Fever VirusMaria Anele Romeo0Eliana Specchiarello1Cosmina Mija2Verdiana Zulian3Massimo Francalancia4Fabrizio Maggi5Anna Rosa Garbuglia6Daniele Lapa7Laboratory of Virology, National Institute for Infectious Disease “Lazzaro Spallanzani”—IRCCS, 00149 Rome, ItalyLaboratory of Virology, National Institute for Infectious Disease “Lazzaro Spallanzani”—IRCCS, 00149 Rome, ItalyLaboratory of Virology, National Institute for Infectious Disease “Lazzaro Spallanzani”—IRCCS, 00149 Rome, ItalyLaboratory of Virology, National Institute for Infectious Disease “Lazzaro Spallanzani”—IRCCS, 00149 Rome, ItalyMicrobiology and Virology Unit, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute, IRCCS, Istituti Fisioterapici Ospedalieri (IFO), 00144 Rome, ItalyLaboratory of Virology, National Institute for Infectious Disease “Lazzaro Spallanzani”—IRCCS, 00149 Rome, ItalyLaboratory of Virology, National Institute for Infectious Disease “Lazzaro Spallanzani”—IRCCS, 00149 Rome, ItalyLaboratory of Virology, National Institute for Infectious Disease “Lazzaro Spallanzani”—IRCCS, 00149 Rome, ItalyRift Valley Fever virus (RVFV) is a mosquito-borne virus with high pathogenic potential in ruminants and humans. Due to its high potential for spreading, it is considered a priority pathogen, and it is included in the Bluepoint list of the World Health Organization (WHO). Given the high pathogenic potential of the virus, it is crucial to develop a rapid heat-mediated inactivation protocol to create a safer working environment, particularly in medical facilities that lack a biosafety level 3 laboratory required for direct handling of RVFV. Our results reveal the broad tissue tropism of RVFV, showing the virus’s capacity for replication in various cell lines. In terms of the thermal stability of RVFV, our findings showed that a 70 °C heat treatment did not fully inactivate the virus within 15 min. However, when exposed to 80 °C and 95 °C, the virus was completely inactivated after 15 min and 5 min, respectively. Additionally, our results indicated that heat-treatment only slightly decreased the integrity of the RVFV genome whether there is a high or low number of viral RNA copies. Overall, the study established a straightforward protocol for heat inactivation that may be beneficial in handling clinical and research samples of RVFV.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/13/12/1089Rift Valley Fever virusRVFVheat inactivationtemperaturesafe-handling proceduresvirus stability
spellingShingle Maria Anele Romeo
Eliana Specchiarello
Cosmina Mija
Verdiana Zulian
Massimo Francalancia
Fabrizio Maggi
Anna Rosa Garbuglia
Daniele Lapa
Heat Treatment as a Safe-Handling Procedure for Rift Valley Fever Virus
Pathogens
Rift Valley Fever virus
RVFV
heat inactivation
temperature
safe-handling procedures
virus stability
title Heat Treatment as a Safe-Handling Procedure for Rift Valley Fever Virus
title_full Heat Treatment as a Safe-Handling Procedure for Rift Valley Fever Virus
title_fullStr Heat Treatment as a Safe-Handling Procedure for Rift Valley Fever Virus
title_full_unstemmed Heat Treatment as a Safe-Handling Procedure for Rift Valley Fever Virus
title_short Heat Treatment as a Safe-Handling Procedure for Rift Valley Fever Virus
title_sort heat treatment as a safe handling procedure for rift valley fever virus
topic Rift Valley Fever virus
RVFV
heat inactivation
temperature
safe-handling procedures
virus stability
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/13/12/1089
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