Title: Determination of the Thermal Inactivation Kinetics of the Human Norovirus Surrogates, Murine Norovirus and Feline Calicivirus
Abstract: Studies are needed to bridge existing data gaps and determine appropriate parameters for thermal inactivation methods for human noroviruses. Cultivable surrogates, such as feline calicivirus (FCV-F9) and murine norovirus (MNV-1), have been used in the absence of human norovirus infectivity assays. This study aimed to characterize the thermal inactivation kinetics of MNV-1 and FCV-F9 at 50, 56, 60, 65, and 72°C for different treatment times (0 to 60 min). Thermal inactivation was performed using the capillary tube method with titers of 4.0 × 10(7) (MNV-1) and 5.8 × 10(8) (FCV-F9) PFU/ml in triplicate experiments, followed by standard plaque assays in duplicate for each experiment. Weibull and first-order models were compared to describe survival curve kinetics. Model fitness was investigated by comparing the regression coefficients (R(2)) and the chi-square (χ(2)) and root mean square error (RMSE) values. The D-values calculated from the first-order model (50 to 72°C) were 0.15 to 34.49 min for MNV-1 and 0.11 to 20.23 min for FCV-9. Using the Weibull model, the t(D) values needed to destroy 1 log PFU of MNV-1 and FCV-F9 at the same temperatures were 0.11 to 28.26 and 0.06 to 13.86 min, respectively. In terms of thermal resistance, MNV-1 was more sensitive than FCV-F9 up to 65°C. At 72°C, FCV-F9 was slightly more susceptible to heat inactivation. Results revealed that the Weibull model was more appropriate to represent the thermal inactivation behavior of both tested surrogates. The z-values were calculated using D-values for the first-order model and the t(D) values for the Weibull model. The z-values were 9.31 and 9.19°C for MNV-1 and 9.36 and 9.31°C for FCV-F9 for the first-order and Weibull models, respectively. This study provides more precise information than previous reports on the thermal inactivation kinetics of two norovirus surrogates for use in thermal process calculations.