Virus processing

The main idea behind viral processing is to stop the viruses in a given sample from contaminating the desired product. The two most widely used methods of viral processing are viral removal and viral inactivation. The former is a method in which all viruses are simply removed from the sample completely. The latter method is one in which the viruses may remain in the final product, but in a non-infective form. These techniques are used widely in the food and blood plasma industries, as those products can be harmed by the presence of viral particles. Some of the more common viruses removed by these methods are the HIV-1 and HIV-2 viruses; hepatitis A, B, and C; and parvoviruses. The methods used in the plasma industry have been summarized (Horowitz B., Minor P., Morgenthaler J. J., Burnouf T., McIntosh R., Padilla A., Thorpe R. and van Aken W. G. Who Expert Committee on Biological Standardization. World Health Organ Tech Rep Ser. 924: 1-232, 2004.) In some cases, however, it is the virus itself that is the desired product, as is often the case with the HIV. In many cases, researchers may be trying to extract the viruses from the blood for study, not specifically for blood purification. It is also common to use these types of techniques to remove particles produced as a result of viral infection. The main idea behind viral processing is to stop the viruses in a given sample from contaminating the desired product. The two most widely used methods of viral processing are viral removal and viral inactivation. The former is a method in which all viruses are simply removed from the sample completely. The latter method is one in which the viruses may remain in the final product, but in a non-infective form. These techniques are used widely in the food and blood plasma industries, as those products can be harmed by the presence of viral particles. Some of the more common viruses removed by these methods are the HIV-1 and HIV-2 viruses; hepatitis A, B, and C; and parvoviruses. The methods used in the plasma industry have been summarized (Horowitz B., Minor P., Morgenthaler J. J., Burnouf T., McIntosh R., Padilla A., Thorpe R. and van Aken W. G. Who Expert Committee on Biological Standardization. World Health Organ Tech Rep Ser. 924: 1-232, 2004.) In some cases, however, it is the virus itself that is the desired product, as is often the case with the HIV. In many cases, researchers may be trying to extract the viruses from the blood for study, not specifically for blood purification. It is also common to use these types of techniques to remove particles produced as a result of viral infection.