A novel method of simulated-use surface disinfection efficacy testing as Phase 3 Step 1 approach.

Does improving surface cleaning and disinfection reduce health care-associated infections?

Standardizing Disinfectant Wipes Across a Hospital System

An efficient cleaning and disinfection practice plays a crucial role in preventing cross-contamination in food industry, domestic situations as well as nosocomial environment. Pre-impregnated disinfecting wipes (ready-to-use disinfectant wipes) are broadly applied in above-mentioned conditions. Regarding the effectiveness of the disinfectant pre-impregnated wipes, research still stays in case study phase and no comprehensive investigation has been carried out to evaluate the structure and function change of the ready-to-use disinfecting wipes over storage time. This work studied the ageing of the disinfecting wipe over storage time. Chloramine as surface disinfectant and 3 commercial wiping materials of polyester (PET), 55% cellulose/45%PET and pure cellulose have been selected. The FTIR (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy) and DMA (Dynamic mechanical analysis) result revealed that oxidation occurred on the textile substrates during the storage of the pre-impregnated disinfecting wipes with special emphasis to the cellulose polymer. Moreover, the occurred oxidation changed the mechanical properties of the cellulose-containing wipes increasing their viscous properties over the elastic ones.

Cleaning – on the way to evidence-based knowledge

Best practices in disinfection of noncritical surfaces in the health care setting: Creating a bundle for success

Disinfectant wipes are widely used to reduce microbial contamination on surfaces, yet there is limited information on how viruses are physically removed or chemically inactivated during wiping. This study aimed to address this gap by comparing the contributions of physical removal and chemical inactivation to overall disinfection efficacy. Glass and vinyl coupons were contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 surrogates, bovine coronavirus (BCoV), or human coronavirus OC43, at an initial titer of 5-6 log TCID50/surface with 5% soil load. After air drying, coupons were wiped using one of the following treatments: (i) pre-wetted blank polypropylene wipe, (ii) hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-based disinfectant wipe, or (iii) quaternary ammonium compound (QAC)-based disinfectant wipe. Wiping was performed manually by hand or mechanically using a Gardco Gardner-scrub. The wiping process followed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency protocol. After a 1 min exposure, residual disinfectant on both coupons and wipes was neutralized separately. Viruses were recovered by sonication for 30 s and quantified using the TCID50 assay with HRT-18G cells. Using blank wipe, more virus was transferred to the wipe from glass (23%-59%) than vinyl (21%-30%), while less virus remained on glass (2%-5%) than vinyl (16%-24%). No significant difference in virus titers was observed between hand wiping and machine wiping, either on the surfaces or in the used wipes. Both disinfectant wipes reduced >3 log10 TCID50 of virus from surfaces, with virus remaining on used wipes below the limit of detection. These results suggest that disinfectant wipes can significantly and rapidly reduce coronavirus contamination and cross-contamination risk.IMPORTANCESurfaces contaminated with respiratory viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2, pose a potential risk for indirect transmission in public and healthcare settings. This study evaluated the effectiveness of disinfectant wipes in reducing two SARS-CoV-2 surrogates from different surface types within a 1 min contact time. Results showed that both hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-based and quaternary ammonium compound (QAC)-based disinfectant wipes reduced infectious virus levels by more than 3 logs. Physical removal of viruses was more efficient on hard, nonporous surfaces (glass) compared to soft, non-porous surfaces (vinyl). No significant difference was observed between hand wiping and mechanical wiping, indicating that standard wiping procedures can be consistently effective regardless of method. Importantly, our findings highlight that disinfectant wipes function through both physical removal and chemical inactivation mechanisms. These data support evidence-based recommendations for surface disinfection practices to mitigate coronavirus contamination and reduce the risk of fomite-mediated viral transmission.

Virucidal activities of novel hand hygiene and surface disinfectant formulations containing EGCG-palmitates (EC16)

Evaluation of temperature, drying time and other determinants for the recovery of Gram-negative bacterial pathogens in disinfectant efficacy testing

Disinfectant wipes are appropriate to control microbial bioburden from surfaces: use of a new ASTM standard test protocol to demonstrate efficacy

We hypothesized that ultraviolet-C (UV-C) irradiation (Surfacide, Waukesha, WI) following use of microfiber cloths (Sanny Shop LLC, Longmont, CO) soaked in waterwould be noninferior to surface disinfection wipes containing a quaternary ammonium compound and alcohol (PDI Healthcare, Woodcliff Lake, NJ)for the pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) sequence type 5 (ST5). This was a randomized laboratory study of disinfection approaches for S. aureusST5. A total of 270 polycarbonate slides loaded with ST5 were prepared for the standard surface disinfection group (N=18) and water-soaked microfiber cloths and UV-C treatment group (N=144), along with positive and negative microbiological controls. All 18 samples of S. aureus ST5 bacteria treated with standard chemical wipes showed complete disinfection (colony forming units (CFU) = 0). All 144 treatments with water-soaked microfiber wipes followed by UV-C exposure showed complete disinfection (CFU =0) regardless of soiling, height from the floor, or orientation to the emitters. The upper 95% exact one-sided confidence limit for any CFU >0 was 2.1%. These data affirm our hypothesis that surface wiping with a damp cloth followed by triangular UV-C irradiation delivery is noninferior to surface disinfection for S. aureusST5 using germicidal wipes, even when UV-C is compromised by height from the floor and orientation to the emitters and surface disinfection is targeted. Removing bioburden with chemical-free microfiber cloths followed by triangular UV-C delivery is a noninferior strategy to targeted surface disinfection with chemical disinfecting wipes for the pathogenicS. aureusST5 strain in the laboratory setting.

본 연구는 IP 카세트를 이용하는 이동촬영 장비의 세균오염도를 조사하여 이동촬영으로 인한 병원 감염을 예방하고 감염교육의 기초자료를 제공하고자 실시하였다. 결과는 IP Cassette 1번에서 CNS, VRE가 검출되었다. 2번에서는 CNS, 3번에서는 CNS, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 4번에서는 CNS, 5번에서는 CNS, Bacillus sp., 6번에서는 Enterococcus faecium이 검출되었다. 영상판독기에서는 Enterococcus faecium, Bacillus sp., 장비 이동 손잡이에서 Acinetobacter baumannii, 조작버튼에서는 Bacillus sp., 조사야 조절 손잡이에서는 CNS, Bacillus sp., X-선 발생 스위치에서는 Acinetobacter baumannii, 바코드기 에서는 CNS가 검출되었다. IP Cassette 이동테이블에서는 Bacillus sp. Acinetobacter baumannii, 납 앞치마에서는 CNS, Bacillus sp.가 검출되었다. 방사선사가 촬영 중 착용한 의료용 장갑에서는 Acinetobacter baumannii, CNS가 검출 되었다. 따라서 IP Cassette는 사용 후에는 반드시 소독하고 재사용하며, 영상판독기, IP 이동테이블은 오염된 IP Cassette를 통해 세균이 전파될 수 있으므로 사용 후에는 소독을 실시해야 한다. 환자와 직접 접촉하는 의료용 장갑도 1회 사용 후 교체하고 촬영 시 접촉이 많은 X-발생 스위치, 납 앞치마도 철저히 소독하여 이동촬영으로 인한 감염을 예방하여야 한다. The purpose of this study is to prevent infection in the hospital by computed radiography portable and to provide basic data on infection-related education by investigating bacterial contamination level of computed radiography portable equipment using IP cassette. The results suggest that IP cassette No. 1 is infected with CNS and VRE, no. 2 with CNS, No. 3 with CNS and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, No. 4 with CNS, No. 5 with CNS and Bacillus sp., and No. 6 with enterococcus faecium. Enterococcus faecium and bacillus sp. were detected from the IP reader and Acinetobacter baumannii was detected on the mobile handle; Bacillus sp. on the control buttons, CNS and Bacillus sp. from the irradiation control handle, Acinetobacter baumannii on the x-ray generation switch, and CNS on the barcode scanner. In addition, Bacillus sp. Acinetobacter baumannii was found on the IP cassette mobile table and CNS and bacillus sp. were found on the lead apron. Acinetobacter baumannii and CNS were detected from the medical gloves worn by a radiological technologist during radiography. This suggests that IP cassette should be sterilized after use as it can hand over bacteria to IP reader and IP mobile table. Medical gloves that are in direct contact with patients should also be replaced after using them once and other supplies such as x-ray generation switch and lead apron should thoroughly be sterilized to prevent infection due to radiography as they are in a lot of contact with patients.

Hospital fomites are major reservoirs of nosocomial pathogens, facilitating healthcare-associated infections, particularly in critical units. However, longitudinal studies investigating the persistence of pathogens on hospital surfaces and their antimicrobial resistance (AMR)patterns remain limited. This study examined the spatiotemporal distribution and antimicrobial resistance of bacterial pathogens isolated from fomite surfaces at Princess Marie Louise Children's Hospital (PML), Accra, Ghana. A 12-week longitudinal study(September 4-November 26, 2023) was conducted across four departments: Emergency, Neonatal Intensive Care, Malnutrition, and Outpatient. High-touch surfaces (including bed rails, incubators, infusion stands, blood pressure cuffs, thermometers, stethoscopes, etc.) were sampled weekly using sterile saline-moistened swabs. Samples were promptly transported in STGG medium on ice to the bacteriology laboratory of the University of Ghana Medical School's Department of Medical Microbiology, for standard culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing using the Kirby-Bauer method. A total of 1,120 bacterial isolates belonging to33 genera were recovered from 600 swab samples. Among Gram-positive bacteria, Staphylococcus epidermidis (97 isolates, 34.3%), Staphylococcus haemolyticus (42 isolates, 14.8%), and Staphylococcus aureus (34 isolates, 12.0%)predominated. The most frequently isolated Gram-negative bacteria were Acinetobacter baumannii (91 isolates, 18.2%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (54 isolates, 10.8%), and Escherichia coli (38 isolates, 7.6%). Contamination levels varied by surface type. Thermometers (N = 25 isolates), thermometer trays (N = 24), weighing tables (N = 24), and IV setting trays (N = 22) exhibited the highest contamination frequencies. Among individual items,Babe's Cot A recorded the highest contamination (N = 30), while Omicron thermometer B had the lowest (N = 18) within the top-ranked fomites.AMR rates were moderate to high across several key pathogens, with resistance ranging from 0-93% in Staphylococcus aureus, 66.7-91.7% in Enterococcus faecium, 18.9-90% in Enterococcus faecium, 29.6-88.9% in Escherichia coli, and 40-82% in Klebsiella pneumoniae. Overall, the evaluated hospital fomites were heavily contaminated with a diverse array of bacterial pathogens exhibiting substantial antimicrobial resistance, underscoring the need to strengthen infection prevention and control measures in healthcare settings.

Due to the development of antibiotic resistance in many bacterial species, the demands in nursing care have changed significantly. In handling urine catheters in home care, ESKAPE (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter spp.) pathogens may present as urinary tract infections or in bacteriuria. However, increasing challenges in hygiene and infection prevention is faced by an increasing number of health assistants and aides with limited knowledge on pathogen systematics, bacterial reservoirs, and pathogen spread. The use of hygiene aids during preparation and emptying the urinary drainage bag for atetraplegic disabled person were observed and recorded. The advantages of using disinfection wipes by nursing personnel and aides during emptying of urine bags is encouraging. Rapid accessibility of well-placed wipes increases the frequency of reaching several times for awipe during acritical workflow, compared to the use of adispenser for hand disinfection. Potentially contaminating touches from the urine outlet or bucket into the area around the bed, or the use of the working hand to touch the glasses, hair, or clothes of the nurse are largely reduced. The touching of the bathroom faucet with apotentially contaminated glove is replaced by reaching for a disinfectant wipe. By preventing the use of acontaminated hand in an area that needs to remain hygienic by reaching for a disinfectant wipe potentially stops the spread of pathogens. The frequent and deliberative use of wipes significantly reduces the risk of pathogen spread in ahome nursing environment.

Surface cleaning and disinfection: insight into the situation in Germany and Europe

Simulated-use buildup biofilm (BBF) model was used to assess various extraction fluids and friction methods to determine the optimal sample collection method for polytetrafluorethylene channels. In addition, simulated-use testing was performed for the channel and lever cavity of duodenoscopes. BBF was formed in polytetrafluorethylene channels using Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Sterile reverse osmosis (RO) water, and phosphate-buffered saline with and without Tween80 as well as two neutralizing broths (Letheen and Dey-Engley) were each assessed with and without friction. Neutralizer was added immediately after sample collection and samples concentrated using centrifugation. Simulated-use testing was done using TJF-Q180V and JF-140F Olympus duodenoscopes. Despite variability in the bacterial CFU in the BBF model, none of the extraction fluids tested were significantly better than RO. Borescope examination showed far less residual material when friction was part of the extraction protocol. The RO for flush-brush-flush (FBF) extraction provided significantly better recovery of E. coli (p = 0.02) from duodenoscope lever cavities compared to the CDC flush method. We recommend RO with friction for FBF extraction of the channel and lever cavity of duodenoscopes. Neutralizer and sample concentration optimize recovery of viable bacteria on culture.