Influence of delivery system on the efficacy of low concentrations of hydrogen peroxide in the disinfection of common healthcare-associated infection pathogens

N J Amaeze; M U Shareef; F L Henriquez; C L Williams; W G Mackay

doi:10.1016/j.jhin.2020.06.031

Influence of delivery system on the efficacy of low concentrations of hydrogen peroxide in the disinfection of common healthcare-associated infection pathogens

J Hosp Infect. 2020 Sep;106(1):189-195. doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2020.06.031. Epub 2020 Jun 27.

Authors

N J Amaeze¹, M U Shareef¹, F L Henriquez¹, C L Williams¹, W G Mackay²

Affiliations

¹ Disinfection Testing Unit, School of Health and Life Sciences, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, UK.
² Disinfection Testing Unit, School of Health and Life Sciences, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, UK. Electronic address: w.mackay@uws.ac.uk.

PMID: 32599010
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhin.2020.06.031

Abstract

Introduction: The ability of healthcare-associated infection pathogens to survive on environmental surfaces is well known. Disinfection is employed to reduce or remove these pathogens but disinfection failures still occur. One method with the potential to improve disinfection efficacy is whole-room disinfection with hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂).

Aim: To determine the influence of delivery system on the efficacy of low-concentration H₂O₂ on common healthcare-associated infection pathogens.

Methods: SanoStatic (electrostatic spray) was compared with SanoFog (fogging) in terms of performance for delivery of 5% H₂O₂ and trace silver ions for disinfection. The bacterial test challenges were vancomycin-resistant Enterobacterales (VRE), extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (ESBLK), carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE), meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Clostridium difficile spores, Bacillus atropheus and Geobacillus stearothermophilus commercial spore strips.

Findings: SanoFog and SanoStatic were effective when tested under the conditions of experimentation reported here. For VRE, ESBLK, CPE and MRSA, SanoFog and SanoStatic were comparable in performance. For C. difficile we concluded the following: SanoFog was most effective for disinfection of C. difficile spores when compared to SanoStatic.

Conclusion: Whereas SanoFog and SanoStatic were effective against bacterial cells, the current practice of using SanoFog and SanoStatic together would be effective for disinfection of C. difficile spores based on investigations under the conditions of experimentation reported here. The spore strips results were not comparable to the results either for the vegetation cells (VRE, ESBLK, CPE, and MRSA) or for C. difficile spores.

Keywords: Clostridium difficile; Disinfectant testing; Healthcare-associated infection; Hydrogen peroxide; Infection control.

MeSH terms

Bacteria / drug effects*
Bacteria / pathogenicity
Colony Count, Microbial
Disinfectants / pharmacology*
Disinfection / methods*
Hydrogen Peroxide / pharmacology*
Microbial Sensitivity Tests
Surface Properties

Substances

Disinfectants
Hydrogen Peroxide