Introduction
Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile is the most important cause of infectious diarrhoea in hospitalized patients. C. difficile spores are highly resistant to disinfectants and frequently recovered from hospital surfaces. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a peracetic acid/hydrogen peroxide-based sporicidal wipe (Clinell Sporicidal; GAMA Healthcare Ltd, London, UK) in removing C. difficile spores from rubber surfaces, as a proxy for shoe soles or tires on hospital equipment.
Methods
Rubber stoppers (65 mm in diameter) were inoculated with 0.1 ml of suspension containing various concentrations of non-toxigenic C. difficile spores (ranging from 103 to 106 cfu/ml). After drying in a vacuum chamber, the stoppers were then pressed onto an activated sporicidal wipe (according to manufacturer’s instruction) for 1, 3, 5, 10, 15 and 20 sec. The number of residual spores on the stoppers was determined using contact plating onto selective ChromID agar (bioMerieux) which was incubated anaerobically for 48 h in a Don Whitley Scientific A35 anaerobic chamber. The assay was repeated three times. Average log10 reductions in spores were calculated for each inoculum size and contact time.
Results
The average log10 reductions of C. difficile spores were 3.61, 3.63, 3.76, 3.73, 4.00 and 3.93 for 1, 3, 5, 10, 15 and 20 sec of contact with the sporicidal wipe, respectively. The mean log10 reductions for inocula of roughly 103, 104, 105 and 106 cfu/ml were 3.69, 4.21, 3.80 and 3.41, respectively. No significant differences in spore reduction were observed between different contact time or inoculum size.
Conclusions
In conclusion, Clinell’s sporicidal wipe was effective in significantly reducing spores on rubber within seconds of contact. This finding suggests that routine use of sporicidal wipes on hospital’s products could be beneficial in reducing the risk of C. difficile transmission from contaminated surfaces.