Inactivation of HIV by Povidone-iodine

To the Editor.— In a Letter to the Editor, Schuster et al 1 suggested that iodophors such as povidone-iodine (Betadine) can "reasonably" be expected to inactivate human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), also known as human T-cell lymphotrophic virus type III. The authors urged that compounds such as iodophors, which are "used almost universally for personal and patient disinfection," be evaluated for eradication of HIV before turning attention to ionizing radiation and other agents. In response to Schuster and colleagues as well as to many other infection control practitioners who have shown a continuing and extensive interest in this topic, we supported an in vitro study that evaluated the use of Betadine solution (10% povidone-iodine) and Betadine surgical scrub (7.5% povidone-iodine) in the inactivation of HIV. The study was conducted in the Infectious Disease Unit of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, by Robert T. Schooley, MD, and associates and was recently completed. (The