Surface Cleaning with a Microfiber Cloth and Water followed by Ultraviolet-C Light Exposure Achieves Non-Inferior Disinfection of a Pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus Strain versus Use of Germicidal Wipes.

BACKGROUND

We hypothesized that ultraviolet-C (UV-C) irradiation (Surfacide, Waukesha, WI) following use of microfiber cloths (Sanny Shop LLC, Longmont, CO) soaked in water would be noninferior to surface disinfection wipes containing a quaternary ammonium compound and alcohol (PDI Healthcare, Woodcliff Lake, NJ) for the pathogenic () sequence type 5 (ST5).

METHODS

This was a randomized laboratory study of disinfection approaches for  ST5. A total of 270 polycarbonate slides loaded with ST5 were prepared for the standard surface disinfection group (N=18) and water-soaked microfiber cloths and UV-C treatment group (N=144), along with positive and negative microbiological controls.

RESULTS

All 18 samples of ST5 bacteria treated with standard chemical wipes showed complete disinfection (colony forming units (CFU) = 0). All 144 treatments with water-soaked microfiber wipes followed by UV-C exposure showed complete disinfection (CFU =0) regardless of soiling, height from the floor, or orientation to the emitters. The upper 95% exact one-sided confidence limit for any CFU >0 was 2.1%.

DISCUSSION

These data affirm our hypothesis that surface wiping with a damp cloth followed by triangular UV-C irradiation delivery is noninferior to surface disinfection for  ST5 using germicidal wipes, even when UV-C is compromised by height from the floor and orientation to the emitters and surface disinfection is targeted.

CONCLUSION

Removing bioburden with chemical-free microfiber cloths followed by triangular UV-C delivery is a noninferior strategy to targeted surface disinfection with chemical disinfecting wipes for the pathogenic  ST5 strain in the laboratory setting.