Data Set for: Sunlight inactivation of enveloped viruses in clear water

The goal of the present study is to investigate the solar photoinactivation of enveloped viruses in clear water. We measured endogenous, direct photoinactivation rate constants for Phi6 and murine hepatitis virus (MHV), surrogate enveloped viruses that have been used extensively as biosafety level 1 and 2 alternatives, respectively, to enveloped human viruses like avian influenza22 and human coronaviruses23 in experimental studies. We included MS2, an F+ coliphage whose solar photoinactivation has been thoroughly characterized as a model non-enveloped virus. MS2 will serve as a biological reference point to which we could compare the decay rate constants of the enveloped viruses. We used different solar spectrums generated by a solar simulator and passed through filters to investigate the role of different wavelengths in promoting photoinactivation. The experiments herein provide some of the first estimates of solar photoinactivation rate constants for enveloped viruses in clear water while providing insight into the mechanisms of photoinactivation for each virus.