Ozone and Air Ionization Technologies Shown Ineffective in Inactivating PRRS and PED

Research has shown the effectiveness of ozone and air ionization technologies in inactivating disease-causing pathogens in swine transport vehicles to be limited.

An Iowa State University study funded through the Swine Health Information Center’s Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Research Program, in partnership with the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research and Pork Checkoff, evaluated the effectiveness of ozone and air ionization technologies for their ability to inactivate PRRS and PED on non-porous surfaces in truck cabins.

SHIC Associate Director Dr. Lisa Becton says transportation poses a significant risk of disease transmission.

Quote-Dr. Lisa Becton-Swine Health Information Center:

The investigators used three different exposure times of 30, 60 and 120 minutes and there were three different concentrations of ozone utilized versus the one air ionizing treatment.They also assessed rubber coupons placed in different locations within the cab of the tractors and then put down the infectious viruses in those rubber coupons, set the treatment and then came back and sampled over time to see, was there any reduction in the virus from the start to after the treatment time?

Unfortunately, for the air ionization treatments, at least for this experiment, there was no reduction seen on PRRS or PED viruses on the rubber coupons.
When we looked at the ozone efficacy, there was variable efficacy for the different concentrations and different time frames but none of those reduced the viral concentrations by more than two logs and a two-log reduction is considered to be a baseline for what a disinfection would show to be effective. Essentially neither of the treatments really provided to have the reduction in viral load that would be expected to show effective disinfection.

The full final report can be accessed at swinehealth.org.