Pathogen transfer and high variability in pathogen removal by detergent wipes

Ramm, Lauren; Siani, Harsha; Wesgate, Rebecca; Maillard, Jean‐Yves

doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2015.03.024

Cited by 65 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Hydrophobicity is one of the key factors influencing this interaction [20], and the importance of surface nano-roughness in respect of adhesion has also been identified as an influential factor [21,22]. Surface wiping [23] and the removal of bacteria from solid surfaces by wipes has been investigated by Williams et al [13] and Ramm et al [24]. These studies have described reproducible methodologies for assessing wiping efficiency, but the focus was on the macro-scale removal of bacteria in the presence of detergent or biocide, rather than on the fundamental micro- or nano-scale interactions between the fibres in the wipe, bacteria and contaminated surface.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of surface energy and nano-roughness in the removal efficiency of bacterial contamination by nonwoven wipes from frequently touched surfaces

Edwards

Best

Connell

et al. 2017

Science and Technology of Advanced Materials

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Healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) are responsible for substantial patient morbidity, mortality and economic cost. Infection control strategies for reducing rates of transmission include the use of nonwoven wipes to remove pathogenic bacteria from frequently touched surfaces. Wiping is a dynamic process that involves physicochemical mechanisms to detach and transfer bacteria to fibre surfaces within the wipe. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which systematic changes in fibre surface energy and nano-roughness influence removal of bacteria from an abiotic polymer surface in dry wiping conditions, without liquid detergents or disinfectants. Nonwoven wipe substrates composed of two commonly used fibre types, lyocell (cellulosic) and polypropylene, with different surface energies and nano-roughnesses, were manufactured using pilot-scale nonwoven facilities to produce samples of comparable structure and dimensional properties. The surface energy and nano-roughness of some lyocell substrates were further adjusted by either oxygen (O2) or hexafluoroethane (C2F6) gas plasma treatment. Static adpression wiping of an inoculated surface under dry conditions produced removal efficiencies of between 9.4% and 15.7%, with no significant difference (p < 0.05) in the relative removal efficiencies of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus or Enterococcus faecalis. However, dynamic wiping markedly increased peak wiping efficiencies to over 50%, with a minimum increase in removal efficiency of 12.5% and a maximum increase in removal efficiency of 37.9% (all significant at p < 0.05) compared with static wiping, depending on fibre type and bacterium. In dry, dynamic wiping conditions, nonwoven wipe substrates with a surface energy closest to that of the contaminated surface produced the highest E. coli removal efficiency, while the associated increase in fibre nano-roughness abrogated this trend with S. aureus and E. faecalis.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of surface energy and nano-roughness in the removal efficiency of bacterial contamination by nonwoven wipes from frequently touched surfaces

Edwards

Best

Connell

et al. 2017

Science and Technology of Advanced Materials

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show abstract

“…In contrast, wipe cleaning of touched surfaces may be performed by HCWs during care delivery, such that the frequency of this activity is higher than whole room cleaning. Targeted wipe cleaning is a relatively new idea, but wipes have found to reduce bacterial loads on environmental surfaces [12, 13] and to be easy to use [14]. We considered both types of cleaning activities to involve the use of approved disinfectants that are effective against MRSA.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring surface cleaning strategies in hospital to prevent contact transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Lei

Jones

2017

BMC Infect Dis

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BackgroundCleaning of environmental surfaces in hospitals is important for the control of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other hospital-acquired infections transmitted by the contact route. Guidance regarding the best approaches for cleaning, however, is limited.MethodsIn this study, a mathematical model based on ordinary differential equations was constructed to study MRSA concentration dynamics on high-touch and low-touch surfaces, and on the hands and noses of two patients (in two hospitals rooms) and a health care worker in a hypothetical hospital environment. Two cleaning interventions – whole room cleaning and wipe cleaning of touched surfaces – were considered. The performance of the cleaning interventions was indicated by a reduction in MRSA on the nose of a susceptible patient, relative to no intervention.ResultsWhole room cleaning just before first patient care activities of the day was more effective than whole room cleaning at other times, but even with 100% efficiency, whole room cleaning only reduced the number of MRSA transmitted to the susceptible patient by 54%. Frequent wipe cleaning of touched surfaces was shown to be more effective that whole room cleaning because surfaces are rapidly re-contaminated with MRSA after cleaning. Wipe cleaning high-touch surfaces was more effective than wipe cleaning low-touch surfaces for the same frequency of cleaning. For low wipe cleaning frequency (≤3 times per hour), high-touch surfaces should be targeted, but for high wipe cleaning frequency (>3 times per hour), cleaning should target high- and low-touch surfaces in proportion to the surface touch frequency. This study reproduces the observations from a field study of room cleaning, which provides support for the validity of our findings.ConclusionsDaily whole room cleaning, even with 100% cleaning efficiency, provides limited reduction in the number of MRSA transmitted to susceptible patients via the contact route; and should be supplemented with frequent targeted cleaning of high-touch surfaces, such as by a wipe or cloth containing disinfectant.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12879-016-2120-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…In addition, all these wipes transferred bacteria or spores between surfaces. 5 As Dr Dancer mentioned, if wipes are used appropriately, the ability of removing 3 log 10 microbial contamination from surfaces may be sufficient.…”

Section: Sirmentioning

confidence: 99%

Missing a trick? Response to: ‘Disinfectant wipes are appropriate to control microbial bioburden from surfaces’

Maillard

Sattar

Bradley

2016

Journal of Hospital Infection

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Pathogen transfer and high variability in pathogen removal by detergent wipes

Cited by 65 publications

References 25 publications

Role of surface energy and nano-roughness in the removal efficiency of bacterial contamination by nonwoven wipes from frequently touched surfaces

Role of surface energy and nano-roughness in the removal efficiency of bacterial contamination by nonwoven wipes from frequently touched surfaces

Exploring surface cleaning strategies in hospital to prevent contact transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Missing a trick? Response to: ‘Disinfectant wipes are appropriate to control microbial bioburden from surfaces’

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