Abstract
For the prevention of infectious diseases, knowledge about transmission routes is essential. In addition to respiratory, fecal–oral, and sexual transmission, the transfer of pathogens via surfaces plays a vital role for human pathogenic infections—especially nosocomial pathogens. Therefore, information about the survival of pathogens on surfaces can have direct implications on clinical measures, including hygiene guidelines and disinfection strategies. In this review, we reviewed the existing literature regarding viral, bacterial, and fungal persistence on inanimate surfaces. In particular, the current knowledge of the survival time and conditions of clinically relevant pathogens is summarized. While many pathogens persist only for hours, common nosocomial pathogens can survive for days to weeks under laboratory conditions and thereby potentially form a continuous source of transmission if no adequate inactivation procedures are performed.
Highlights
Many pathogens require a living host to survive, while others may be able to persist in a dormant state outside of a living host
Influenza A virus (strain A/Mexico/4108/2009 (H1N1)) showed shorter survival times of infectious virus on plastic and steel compared to MERS-CoV: No infectious virus was detected after 8 h, regardless the tested environmental conditions (20 ◦ C + 40% relative humidity (RH), 30 ◦ C + 30% RH and 30 ◦ C + 80% RH), van Doremalen et al
Low temperatures are associated with longer persistence for most bacteria, fungi and viruses. while extensive research has been conducted for selected species (e.g., E. coli, A. baumannii, or norovirus), the survivability of many species remains widely unexplored
Summary
Jan Erik Wißmann 1,† , Lisa Kirchhoff 2,† , Yannick Brüggemann 1 , Daniel Todt 1,3 , Joerg Steinmann 2,4, *.
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