Does a virus survive vacuum?

[William M Fields,NB234 LRC ,551-3059,8]

In a previous article, hansenl at primenet.com (leo hansen) says:

>Did any one else see the article in the March issue of Chemcial 
>Engineering Progress that described high pressure, i.e., > 10,000 Atm, to 
>process food.  Some Japanese companies have developed processes using 
>these pressures to sterilize food products by forcing chemical 
>modifications to the bacteria.  I don't remember if viruses were also 
>affected, but I don't see why not.  Rather than vacuum maybe high 
>pressure will render virus harmless, note I didn't say kill.
>

So noted.

Strictly speaking, a virus rendered harmless in the sense that it cannot 
replicate itself and interact with cellular machinery, may still contain 
particles of potential pathogenicity if it should recombine with other 
viruses in a suitable environment.  A suitable environment might be a 
transplant patient receiving immunosuppressants or a person with active 
HIV disease.

I appreciate the iniatives toward food sterilization technology, but what 
has happened to radiation?  Has it proven to be unsatifactory? It 
certainly seems to knock the bases right off their sugars.