Chlorous Acid Inactivates Mycobacterium Tuberculosis with a Much Lower Available Chlorine Concentration than Sodium...

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Infectious Diseases
• Public Health

Background:

• Mycobacterium tuberculosis causes tuberculosis, a leading cause of global mortality.
• Effective sterilization is critical for tuberculosis control.
• M. tuberculosis exhibits significant resistance to common disinfectants like sodium hypochlorite.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the bactericidal efficacy of chlorous acid and sodium hypochlorite against M. tuberculosis.
• To evaluate disinfectant effectiveness in the presence and absence of artificial saliva.

Main Methods:

• Mycobacterium tuberculosis cultures were treated with varying concentrations of sodium hypochlorite and chlorous acid.
• Experiments were conducted both in the absence and presence of artificial saliva.
• Bacterial reduction was assessed by measuring colony-forming units (CFU/mL).

Main Results:

• Chlorous acid demonstrated significantly higher bactericidal activity than sodium hypochlorite.
• Only 5 ppm of chlorous acid was required to eliminate M. tuberculosis, compared to 20,000 ppm of sodium hypochlorite.
• In the presence of artificial saliva, 25 ppm of chlorous acid was effective, versus 500 ppm of sodium hypochlorite.

Conclusions:

• Chlorous acid is a more potent disinfectant for Mycobacterium tuberculosis than sodium hypochlorite.
• The efficacy of chlorous acid remains high even in the presence of organic matter like artificial saliva.
• Chlorous acid presents a promising alternative for sterilizing clinical environments contaminated with M. tuberculosis.