Survival of Staphylococcus aureus on fomites

The aim of this study was to evaluate duration of survival of Staphylococcus aureus on contaminated standardized fomites, such as sterilization paper (SP) and polyester previously sterilized in a steam autoclave, and to determine the potential inhibitory effects of the substrates (fabrics used to manufacture garments and special wrapping paper used in the dental setting) using the bacteriostasis test. The test was performed on two types of sterile standardized samples (T1 and T2). Sterility of the samples was validated following the protocol in use at the Department of Microbiology, after which the samples were inoculated with 50 microl of a calibrated suspension of Staphylococcus aureus (reference strain ATCC 25923) in the exponential growth phase, in a final concentration of 10(7) cfu/ml and 10(6) cfu/ml). The samples were incubated at 27 degrees C and survival and concentration of microorganisms attached to the surface of the substrates was determined at the following experimental time points: immediately post-contamination, and 3 hours, 24 hours, 3 days, and 7 days post-contamination. Recovery was determined and expressed as a percentage; the bacteriostasis test was performed and showed negative results. Our results suggest that the quantity of recovered microorganisms varies according to the type of substrate and that there is a relation between survival and incubation time of the inoculated substrate serving as an artificial niche.