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Disinfectant wipes are appropriate to control microbial bioburden from surfaces: use of a new ASTM standard test
S A Sattar1, C Bradley2, R Kibbee1
1Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Background:
The use of disinfectant pre-soaked wipes (DPW) to decontaminate high-touch environmental surfaces (HTES) by wiping is becoming increasingly widespread in the healthcare environment. However, DPW are rarely tested using conditions simulating their field use, and the label claims of environmental surface disinfectants seldom include wiping action.
Aim:
To evaluate the new E2967-15 standard test specific to wipes, particularly their ability to decontaminate surfaces and to transfer acquired contamination to clean surfaces.
Methods:
ASTM Standard E2967-15 was used by three independent laboratories to test the efficacy of five types of commercially available wipe products. All data generated were pulled together, and reproducibility and repeatability of the standard were measured.
Findings:
All the commercial DPW tested achieved a >4log10 (>99.99%) reduction in colony-forming units (CFU) of Staphylococcus aureus and Acinetobacter baumanii with 10s of wiping, but only one DPW containing 0.5% accelerated H2O2 prevented the transfer of bacteria to another surface.
Conclusion:
This newly introduced standard method represents a significant advance in assessing DPW for microbial decontamination of HTES, and should greatly assist research and development, and in making more relevant and reliable claims on marketed DPW.
Insights
Disinfectant pre-soaked wipes (DPW) effectively reduce bacteria on surfaces. However, a new standard shows only one tested wipe prevented bacterial transfer to clean surfaces, highlighting the need for improved wipe efficacy testing.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Infection Control
- Environmental Hygiene
Background:
- Disinfectant pre-soaked wipes (DPW) are increasingly used for high-touch environmental surfaces (HTES) in healthcare.
- Current testing methods rarely simulate field use conditions for DPW.
- Label claims for disinfectants often omit wiping action efficacy.
Purpose of the Study:
- Evaluate the new ASTM E2967-15 standard for wipe testing.
- Assess DPW efficacy in decontaminating surfaces.
- Determine the capacity of DPW to transfer acquired contamination.
Main Methods:
- Utilized ASTM Standard E2967-15 across three independent laboratories.
- Tested five commercially available DPW products.
- Analyzed data for reproducibility and repeatability of the standard.
Main Results:
- All tested DPW achieved >4log10 reduction of Staphylococcus aureus and Acinetobacter baumanii with 10s wiping.
- Only one DPW, containing 0.5% accelerated H2O2, prevented bacterial transfer to a clean surface.
- Significant variability in bacterial reduction and transfer prevention was observed among products.
Conclusions:
- The new ASTM E2967-15 standard is a significant advancement for assessing DPW microbial decontamination of HTES.
- This standard will aid research and development for more reliable DPW claims.
- Further research is needed to optimize DPW formulations for both surface decontamination and prevention of microbial transfer.
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