By Dana S. Lateulere and Barbara A. Christianson

On October 19, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it activated its emerging viral pathogen (EVP) guidance in support of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) response to the Ebola virus cases in western Uganda. With EPA’s EVP guidance, additional disinfectants, for which EVP claims have been approved, can be used against the Ebola virus.

According to EPA’s press release, EPA developed its EVP guidance to aid in the availability of EPA-registered disinfectants for use against EVPs. EPA states that it divides viruses into three tiers based on how difficult they are to kill. The Ebola virus falls into Tier 1, the category of viruses that are easiest to kill. EPA expects disinfectants qualified for use against any EVPs in Tiers 1, 2, and 3 to be effective against the Ebola virus when used according to the label use directions.  To find these products, EPA recommends searching its list of disinfectants and filter for products for use on Tier 1 viruses.

EPA states the use of products with EVP claims supplements but does not replace other infection control practices. Individuals should follow CDC, state, and local public health guidelines.

According to EPA, EPA’s website “provides the list of products registered for use against Ebola, and list of disinfectants for emerging viral pathogens.”

Additional information on EVP guidance is available on our blog.

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By Heather F. Collins, M.S.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on May 26, 2022, that on Monday, May 23, 2022, it has activated its Emerging Viral Pathogen (EVP) Guidance for Antimicrobial Pesticides (Guidance) in response to monkeypox, which had been considered to be a rare disease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), monkeypox was first discovered in 1958 when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for research, hence the name “monkeypox.” The first human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo during a period of intensified effort to eliminate smallpox. CDC states that its scientists are tracking multiple cases of monkeypox that have been reported in several countries that do not normally report monkeypox, including the United States.

EPA developed its Guidance in 2016 to address emerging pathogens. Under this Guidance, EPA provides pesticide registrants with a voluntary “two-stage process to enable use of certain EPA-registered disinfectant products against emerging viral pathogens not identified on the product label.” These pathogens may not be identified on a label because the occurrence of EVPs is less common and predictable than that of established pathogens and because the pathogens are often unavailable commercially and standard methods for laboratory testing may not exist. EPA’s intent is for the Guidance to “expedite the process for registrants to provide useful information to the public” regarding products that may be effective against EVPs associated with certain human or animal disease outbreaks. Registrants with a pre-qualified EVP designation can include an efficacy statement in technical literature distributed to health care facilities, physicians, nurses, public health officials, non-label-related websites, consumer information services, and social media sites. Additional information on the EVP Guidance is available here and here.

The monkeypox virus belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus in the family Poxviridae and is an enveloped virus, meaning it is one of the easiest to kill with the appropriate disinfectant product. EPA recently developed the new List Q: Disinfectants for Emerging Viral Pathogens (EVPs). Monkeypox virus is a Tier I (enveloped virus); thus, when disinfectants damage their lipid envelope, the virus is no longer infectious. EPA’s List Q currently has 422 disinfectant products for use on Tier 1 viruses.

The EVP Policy for the monkeypox virus expires in May 2023.

Information on the monkeypox virus is available on CDC’s website.

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By Barbara A. Christianson

On November 19, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is extending COVID-19 activation of the emerging viral pathogens (EVP) guidance for antimicrobial pesticides indefinitely. EPA states that its EVP guidance for antimicrobial pesticides is a part of the federal government’s pandemic preparedness, allowing manufacturers to provide EPA with data, even in advance of an outbreak, demonstrating that their products are effective against hard-to-kill viruses.

EPA activated its EVP guidance for antimicrobial pesticides for the first time in January 2020 in response to the emergence of SARS-CoV-2. EPA has allowed for expedited review and approval of surface disinfectant products for use against SARS-CoV-2 for more than 12 months, including accelerated review for products seeking to add EVP claims to product labels. To date, EPA has added 591 products with emerging viral pathogens claims to its list of Disinfectants for Coronavirus (List N).

EPA states that registrants must remove EVP claims from consumer messaging no later than 24 months after the original notification of the outbreak, unless directed otherwise by EPA. With this extension, EPA will now provide a notification at least six months before inactivating the EVP guidance for SARS-CoV-2 to allow registrants time to adjust product marketing materials as required.

Additional information on the EVP guidance is available here.

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