The efficacy of several povidone-iodine (PVP-I) products, a number of other chemical agents, and various physical conditions were evaluated for their ability to inactivate the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Treatment of SARS-CoV with PVP-I products for 2 min reduced the virus infectivity from 1.17 x 10**6 TCID sub(50)/ml to below the detectable level. The efficacy of 70% ethanol was equivalent to that of PVP-I products. Fixation of SARS-CoV-infected Vero E6 cells with a fixative including formalin, glutaraldehyde, methanol, and acetone for 5 min or longer eliminated all infectivity. Heating the virus at 56 deg C for 5 min dramatically reduced the infectivity of the virus from 2.6 x 10**7 to 40 TCID sub(50)/ml, whereas heating the virus for 60 min or longer eliminated all infectivity. Irradiation with ultraviolet light at 134MicroW/square cm for 15 min reduced the infectivity from 3.8 x 10**7 to 180 TCID sub(50)/ml; however, prolonged irradiation (60 min) failed to eliminate the remaining virus, leaving 18.8 TCID sub(50)/ml. We believe that these findings will be useful for the implementation of infection contiol measures against SARS, and for the establishment of effective guidelines for the prevention of SARS outbreaks.

In order to examine whether iodine supplements may have caused a global decline in sperm concentrations during the past several decades, the synchronicity of the decline in mean sperm counts and the introduction of io-dine supplements was analyzed statistically. A positive correlation between the incidence of thyroid disease and sperm counts has been detected in Europe. In addition, it has been shown that sperm counts began falling around 1965 in the United States, 40years after iodine supplements were introduced. Mean sperm counts before and after 1965 were 111 10 sup(6)/ml and 70 10 sup(6)/ml, respec-tively, in calculations weighted by the number of subjects included in each in-dividual publication. The timing of the declines coincided with the introduc-tion of iodine supplements in the United States, France, and the United King-dom. The implications are that the global decline in sperm concentrations may be caused by iodine intake. Geographical variation in the types of sperm count decline also appears to be present.