This study examines the pathogen transfer potential of surfaces that have been treated with Clorox Wipes vs. surfaces that have not. The study focuses on certain enteric and respiratory pathogens and not surprisingly the transfer potential of these pathogens was greatly reduced in varying amounts with Clorox Wipes treatment. This study was partially funded by The Clorox Company.
RESULTS OVERVIEW
Removal of microorganisms from fomites by the disinfectant wipe.
To determine the sources of transfer potential with and without intervention, microbial counts of E. coli, S. aureus, B. thuringiensis spores, and PV-1 recovered from disinfectant-treated–nontransfer control fomites were compared to those recovered from nontreated-nontransfer control fomites. The numbers of test microorganisms recovered from nontreated-nontransfer fomites (4.5 to 6.9 log10 CFU/2 cm2 or PFU/2 cm2) were significantly greater than those recovered from treated-nontransfer fomites (<1.2 to 2.7 log10 CFU/2 cm2 or PFU/2 cm2) for all types of microorganisms and fomites tested (Student's t test, P < 0.05), resulting in mean log10 microbial reductions of 1.9 to 5.0 (Table 1). Reduction of B. thuringiensis spores was always less than that of the other microorganisms (mean log10 reduction of 1.9 to 2.5 versus 3.5 to 5.0) (Table 1), showing that B. thuringiensis spores were more likely to be available for transfer after disinfectant wipe treatment.