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Microbiological analysis concerning the antibacterial effect of atomized Ionless® hypochlorous acid water in a
Miho Miura1, Kenji Gotoh1, Chiyoko Tanamachi2
1Division of Infection Control and Prevention, Kurume University Hospital, 67 Asahi-machi, Kurume, Fukuoka, 830-0011, Japan.
Insights
Hypochlorous acid water atomization effectively disinfects nursery school environments and toys, eliminating over 99.99% of Staphylococcus aureus. This method offers a promising solution for reducing infection transmission in daycare settings.
Area of Science:
- Environmental microbiology
- Infection control in childcare settings
- Disinfection technologies
Background:
- Daycare centers pose infection risks due to close contact and shared toys.
- Current disinfection methods like alcohol wipes may be insufficient for comprehensive environmental disinfection.
- Novel disinfection strategies are needed to enhance safety in early childhood education environments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of hypochlorous acid (HO) water atomization for disinfecting nursery school classrooms and toys.
- To assess the reduction of bacterial contamination, specifically Staphylococcus aureus, using this atomization method.
Main Methods:
- Environmental and toy cultures were analyzed for bacterial load and species.
- Petri dishes with Staphylococcus aureus were placed in high-contact areas.
- Hypochlorous acid water was atomized to achieve 0.03-ppm atmospheric chlorine concentration, followed by bacterial count evaluation.
Main Results:
- Atomization for 5 hours, with a 3-hour post-treatment period, eliminated ≥99.99% of Staphylococcus aureus from petri dishes.
- Significant disinfection of environmental bacteria was observed within 1 hour post-atomization.
- Effective disinfection of rubber and textile toys occurred within 1 hour, and plastic toys within 3 hours.
Conclusions:
- Hypochlorous acid water atomization is a highly effective strategy for disinfecting nursery school environments.
- This method demonstrates significant potential for reducing pathogen transmission in childcare facilities.
- Atomization offers a viable alternative or supplement to traditional disinfection methods for toys and surfaces.
Introduction:
In daycare centers, infants come in close contact with each other, and contact, droplet, and mouth-to-mouth infections may occur owing to sharing of toys. Additional effective disinfection methods should be considered aside from wiping with disinfectants-including alcohol or sodium hypochlorite solution-for environmental disinfection of daycare centers. We aimed to examine the usefulness of hypochlorous acid water atomization in the effective disinfection of the classroom environment and toys at a nursery school.
Methods:
Environmental cultures of the nursery and toys were prepared to evaluate the species and bacterial load and to assess the contaminated areas. Staphylococcus aureus petri dishes were placed at high-frequency contact sites, and hypochlorous acid water was atomized to achieve a 0.03-ppm atmospheric chlorine concentration. After the atomization, the amount of S. aureus bacteria on the Petri dish and the changes in bacterial count isolated from the environment and toys were evaluated.
Results:
Hypochlorous acid water atomization was performed for 5 h to avoid condensation. After a 3-h atomization, ≥99.99% of S. aureus was eliminated on petri dishes; furthermore, a significant disinfection effect was observed on environmental bacteria at least 1 h after atomization. For rubber and textile toys, the significant disinfection effect was observed 1 h after atomization, and for plastic toys, the effect was observed 3 h after atomization.
Conclusions:
Hypochlorous acid water atomization is a useful strategy to disinfect nursery school classrooms.
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