Background
Surface-mediated infectious disease transmission is a major concern in various settings,
including schools, hospitals, and food-processing facilities. Chemical disinfectants
are frequently used to reduce contamination, but many pose significant risks to humans,
surfaces, and the environment, and all must be properly applied in strict accordance
with label instructions to be effective. This study set out to determine the capability
of a novel chemical-free, saturated steam vapor disinfection system to kill microorganisms,
reduce surface-mediated infection risks, and serve as an alternative to chemical disinfectants.
Methods
High concentrations of Escherichia coli, Shigella flexneri, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Salmonella enterica, methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, MS2 coliphage (used as a surrogate for nonenveloped viruses including norovirus),
Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, and the endospores of Clostridium difficile were dried individually onto porous clay test surfaces. Surfaces were treated with
the saturated steam vapor disinfection system for brief periods and then numbers of
surviving microorganisms were determined. Infection risks were calculated from the
kill-time data using microbial dose-response relationships published in the scientific
literature, accounting for surface-to-hand and hand-to-mouth transfer efficiencies.
Results
A diverse assortment of pathogenic microorganisms was rapidly killed by the steam
disinfection system; all of the pathogens tested were completely inactivated within
5 seconds. Risks of infection from the contaminated surfaces decreased rapidly with
increasing periods of treatment by the saturated steam vapor disinfection system.
Conclusions
The saturated steam vapor disinfection system tested for this study is chemical-free,
broadly active, rapidly efficacious, and therefore represents a novel alternative
to liquid chemical disinfectants.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 14, 2008
Identification
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© 2009 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
