THERMOINACTIVATION OF HERPES SIMPLEX VIRUS AND CYTOMEGALOVIRUS.

Plummer, Gordon (Baylor University College of Medicine, Houston, Tex.), and Brian Lewis. Thermoinactivation of herpes simplex virus and cytomegalovirus. J. Bacteriol. 89:671-674. 1965.-The stability of herpes simplex virus and of human cytomegalovirus at 4, 22, 36, and 50 C was studied. A plateau or lag phase, during which no loss of viability was detected, was a constant feature of the inactivation curves of herpesvirus and cytomegalovirus at 36 and 22 C and of herpesvirus at 4 C. Unlike herpesvirus, cytomegalovirus was repeatedly found to be less stable at 4 C (and at 10 C) than at room temperature (22 C). Extracellular herpesvirus harvested from the supernatant culture fluid seemed to be more stable than intracellular virus obtained by sonic disintegration of the infected cells. Serum had a stabilizing effect at 36 C on both intracellular and extracellular virus.