Abstract
Handwashing with soap is an effective and economical means to reduce the likelihood of Escherichia coli infection from indirect contact with contaminated surfaces during food preparation. The purpose of this study was to conduct a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) to evaluate the risk of infection from indirect contact with fomites contaminated with E. coli after hand washing with antimicrobial hand soaps. A Monte Carlo simulation was done with a total of 10,000 simulations to compare the effectiveness of two antimicrobial and one control (non-antimicrobial) bar soaps in reducing the exposure and infection risk compared to no hand washing. The numbers of E. coli on several fomites commonly found in household kitchens, as well as the transfer rates between fomites and onto fingertips, were collected from the literature and experimental data. The sponsor company provided the E. coli survival on hands after washing with antimicrobial and control soaps. A number of scenarios were evaluated at two different exposure doses (high and low). Exposure scenarios included transfer of E. coli between meat-to-cutting board surface-to-hands, meat-to-knife surface-to-hands, and from a countertop surface-to-hands, kitchen sponge-to-hands, hand towel-to-hands, and dishcloth-to-hands. Results showed that the risks of illness after washing with the control soap was reduced approximately 5-fold compared to no handwashing. Washing with antimicrobial soap reduced the risk of E. coli infection by an average of about 40-fold compared with no handwashing. The antimicrobial soaps ranged from 3 to 32 times more effective than the non-antimicrobial soap, depending on the specific exposure scenario. Importance: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate the yearly incidence rate of Shiga Toxin producing E. coli infections is about 1.7/100,000, with about 10% of cases leading to life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome and 3–5% leading to death. Our findings confirm handwashing with soap reduces the risks associated with indirect transmission of E. coli infection from contact with fomites during food preparation. Further, in these exposure scenarios, antimicrobial soaps were more effective overall than the non-antimicrobial soap in reducing exposure to E. coli and risk of infection.
Highlights
Foodborne illness can be caused by a wide variety of pathogens
In 2011, using data from active and passive surveillance from 2000–2008, Ref. [1] reported that 31 major pathogens cause an estimated 9.4 million episodes of foodborne illness in the United States each year, with over
Results of the Monte Carlo analysis indicated that washing hands with either the control bar soap, or the antimicrobial #1 or #2, reduced the potential exposure dose to E. coli from contaminated fomites
Summary
Foodborne illness can be caused by a wide variety of pathogens. In 2011, using data from active and passive surveillance from 2000–2008, Ref. [1] reported that 31 major pathogens cause an estimated 9.4 million episodes of foodborne illness in the United States each year, with overPathogens 2020, 9, 778; doi:10.3390/pathogens9100778 www.mdpi.com/journal/pathogens55,000 hospitalizations and over 1300 deaths. Foodborne illness can be caused by a wide variety of pathogens. In 2011, using data from active and passive surveillance from 2000–2008, Ref. [1] reported that 31 major pathogens cause an estimated 9.4 million episodes of foodborne illness in the United States each year, with over. A third of these foodborne illnesses are caused by bacteria. Escherichia coli is one of the pathogens that can lead to foodborne disease. E. coli is a large and diverse group of gram-negative bacteria that commonly inhabit the intestines of healthy humans. Many strains are harmless; some are pathogenic, and can pose serious health threats including diarrhea and gastrointestinal illness, urinary tract infections, respiratory illness, and pneumonia. In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Enteric
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