Re: Virkon

Michelle Ingram J.A.K Marketing Limited — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 15:37:22 GMT

As newly appointed distributors for Virkon. To clear up any questions you may have I would like to post a statement from Andy Hughes at DuPont with regards to Virkon®. If anyone has any further questions please feel free to contact me.

“Irritation is an issue for a very small percentage of the population and relates to the concentrate powder. This is personal to the individual as it would be associated with many household products. The only sector I have experience of this is with the veterinary business, where the nurses mix product in a confined area, usually the kitchen or store room with little or no ventilation. It would not be an experience I would find in hospitals or in Agriculture as the work environment is different.

There used to be a dissolvable sachet in the Virkon® Professional range many years ago that had stability problems once opened, this was due to the air moisture that made the sachet start to crystalize over a period of time, we therefore removed them from sale.

It was after that point that we developed the tablets to remove the powder issue and therefore irritation in a confined space. The tablets are easy to handle, safe, have the high efficacy standards expected of Virkon® and effervescent providing the nurses exactly what they need in the confined environment. The comment the lady made on the forum was acceptable and personal to her, the tablet is the solution to her question.

The additional comment – is it old fashioned?

Old fashioned – definitely not, it was ahead of its time when released and one of the very few powder products on the market. Since Virkon® came off patent we see many more competitors chasing our market which has made powder products more accepted in the wider animal health business. There is still no other product on the market with an efficacy portfolio close to that of Virkon® using various test methods on organisms across a range of Virus, bacteria, fungi or spore. It is true that some chemistries will work better against one group more than another, but none have the broad spectrum test data associated with Virkon®

The products mentioned are two completely different chemistries with a gulf between their mode of action and long term sustainability. Virkon® has an oxidising mode of action which attacks the composite bonds of the organism, compared to the cell toxic effects (dissolving) chemistry of many competitive products, which are formulated around quaternary based products. The biggest factor with an oxidising chemistry is there is no known resistance to the actives used whereas some quaternaries have a large data set of known resistance, from a wide range of professional studies.

It is true to say that dissolving chemistries have a bio-accumulative toxicity which is a poorer environmental profile, this does not occur with Virkon® as it is a blend of organic materials that break down readily in the environment over a short period of time. Once Virkon® has performed its mode of action it becomes inert and is no-longer active, the dissolving chemistry, by nature, linger in the environment and as they become weaker the efflux pump of the bacteria defends its self and produces resistance to the weaker solution over time if used continually.

It is also true to say that an oxidising product works quicker against an organism due to the mode of action whereas dissolving type chemistries can take much longer. An example would be a quaternary based product can take up to 1 hour to kill parvovirus compared to 10 minutes with Virkon®.”

Andy Hughes

DuPont Sales Manager

Re: Virkon

jojofruits — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 14:59:05 GMT

I seem to remember it being a nightmare! I assume most use Anigene/ Anistel these days, is Virkon considered old fashioned?

Is it actually any better than Anigene for calici?

Re: Virkon

Sal the 1st — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 17:37:03 GMT

wish it was that simple - when it first came out a large tub of the stuff got knocked off the shelf and the tub burst, and there started my problems with virkon I get really wheezy now when its around. I tend to wear a mask now if using the powder. There used to be some small 'bags' that you dropped into water and they dissolved but cant see them on line now? have they been discontinued? they used to cut down no end on any dust issues

Re: Virkon

chris beasley — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 17:17:48 GMT

[quote user="Sal the 1st"]

must admit Virkon does make me wheeze - but you can get (or used to be able to anyway) either virkon tablets or the soluble virkon sachets which helps with the dust

[/quote]

We use the virkon tablets. Easy to use. There is still a risk when the pot is new, but providing you open it away from your nose - no problem.

Re: Virkon

Sal the 1st — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 14:30:27 GMT

must admit Virkon does make me wheeze - but you can get (or used to be able to anyway) either virkon tablets or the soluble virkon sachets which helps with the dust

Re: Virkon

SuzyM — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 13:15:45 GMT

Hi, I was once told Virkon is hazardous to health but if you read the safety data sheet it claims to be very safe to use (based on lab trails). The powder is unpleaseant to inhale though and is virtually unavoidable no matter how careful you are, so I always use a mask (or hold my breath!) when measuring it out. It is a very effective disinfectant though so worth the trouble. We use it for our deep cleans and isolation.