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Ludwig A. Lettau, MD, MPH; Walter W. Bond, MS; J. Steven McDougal, MD
Centers for Disease Control Atlanta

JAMA. 1985;254(6):752.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

In response to the suggestion by Dr Wislocki¹ that hepatitis B and perhaps the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) could be transmitted via reusable diaphragm fitting rings, we are not aware of any reports of hepatitis B transmission implicating such devices. Also, recent laboratory data suggest that the etiologic viruses of both these diseases will in fact be inactivated by the disinfection procedure recommended by the manufacturer.

With respect to hepatitis B virus (HBV), lack of an in vitro culture method has hampered study of its inactivation kinetics by chemical or physical agents. This has fostered the concept that it is an unusually resistant virus. However, two recent studies^2,3 have shown that the virus is, in fact, sensitive to a spectrum of disinfectant chemicals including alcohols (70% isopropanol, 80% ethanol). In these studies, chimpanzees were directly inoculated with HBV-positive human plasma treated with a variety of . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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