Sterilisation of hepatitis and HTLV-III viruses by exposure to tri(n-butyl)phosphate and sodium cholate.

Blood product sterilisation with 0.3% tri(n-butyl)phosphate (TNBP)/0.2% sodium cholate (CA), a combination known to permit high recovery of factor VIII and factor IX, was evaluated for its effect on hepatitis B (HBV), non-A, non-B (NANB), and human T-lymphotropic type III (HTLV-III) viruses. 2 chimpanzees received factor VIII preparations contaminated with 10(4) chimpanzee infectious doses (CID50) of HBV and treated with TNBP/CA; neither had evidence of HBV infection during 9 months follow-up, but hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) developed 5 and 6 weeks, respectively, after challenge with untreated inoculum. 2 chimpanzees were similarly exposed to 10(4) CID50 of Hutchinson NANB inoculum treated with TNBP/CA; neither became infected during 26 weeks of follow-up but both had characteristic NANB-associated ultrastructural changes 3-5 weeks after exposure to untreated inoculum. 2 chimpanzees inoculated with 80 ml of TNBP/CA-treated factor VIII derived from a pool of thirteen lots obtained from five US manufacturers remained free of any evidence of NANB infection during 32 weeks of follow-up. Subsequently, NANB infection developed in both animals 3-4 weeks after exposure to untreated inoculum. Exposure of HTLV-III diluted into a factor VIII preparation to TNBP/CA inactivated greater than or equal to 10(4.2) tissue culture infective doses within 20 min at 24 degrees C.