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Hospital disinfectants and spore formation by Clostridium difficile. 2000

M H Wilcox, and W N Fawley

Evidence is lacking on how best to decontaminate the hospital environment of Clostridium difficile. We compared sporulation levels in the UK epidemic C. difficile strain (P24), another clinical isolate (B31), and an environmental strain (E4) cultured in faecal emulsion containing subinhibitory concentrations of one of five hospital cleaning agents. The epidemic strain produced significantly more spores than the non-prevalent strains, and sporulation was further enhanced when this strain was cultured in faeces exposed to non-chlorine-based cleaning agents. The choice of cleaning agent can have a substantial effect on the persistence of C. difficile spores in the hospital environment.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D003902 Detergents Purifying or cleansing agents, usually salts of long-chain aliphatic bases or acids, that exert cleansing (oil-dissolving) and antimicrobial effects through a surface action that depends on possessing both hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties. Cleansing Agents,Detergent Pods,Laundry Detergent Pods,Laundry Pods,Syndet,Synthetic Detergent,Agent, Cleansing,Agents, Cleansing,Cleansing Agent,Detergent,Detergent Pod,Detergent Pod, Laundry,Detergent Pods, Laundry,Detergent, Synthetic,Detergents, Synthetic,Laundry Detergent Pod,Laundry Pod,Pod, Detergent,Pod, Laundry,Pod, Laundry Detergent,Pods, Detergent,Pods, Laundry,Pods, Laundry Detergent,Synthetic Detergents
D004202 Disinfectants Substances used on inanimate objects that destroy harmful microorganisms or inhibit their activity. Disinfectants are classed as complete, destroying SPORES as well as vegetative forms of microorganisms, or incomplete, destroying only vegetative forms of the organisms. They are distinguished from ANTISEPTICS, which are local anti-infective agents used on humans and other animals. (From Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, 11th ed) Biocide,Disinfectant,Biocides
D005243 Feces Excrement from the INTESTINES, containing unabsorbed solids, waste products, secretions, and BACTERIA of the DIGESTIVE SYSTEM.
D006113 United Kingdom Country in northwestern Europe including Great Britain and the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland, located between the North Sea and north Atlantic Ocean. The capital is London. Great Britain,Isle of Man
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000704 Analysis of Variance A statistical technique that isolates and assesses the contributions of categorical independent variables to variation in the mean of a continuous dependent variable. ANOVA,Analysis, Variance,Variance Analysis,Analyses, Variance,Variance Analyses
D013171 Spores, Bacterial Heat and stain resistant, metabolically inactive bodies formed within the vegetative cells of bacteria of the genera Bacillus and Clostridium. Bacterial Spores,Bacterial Spore,Spore, Bacterial
D016172 DNA Fingerprinting A technique for identifying individuals of a species that is based on the uniqueness of their DNA sequence. Uniqueness is determined by identifying which combination of allelic variations occur in the individual at a statistically relevant number of different loci. In forensic studies, RESTRICTION FRAGMENT LENGTH POLYMORPHISM of multiple, highly polymorphic VNTR LOCI or MICROSATELLITE REPEAT loci are analyzed. The number of loci used for the profile depends on the ALLELE FREQUENCY in the population. DNA Fingerprints,DNA Profiling,DNA Typing,Genetic Fingerprinting,DNA Fingerprint,DNA Fingerprintings,DNA Profilings,DNA Typings,Fingerprint, DNA,Fingerprinting, DNA,Fingerprinting, Genetic,Fingerprintings, DNA,Fingerprintings, Genetic,Fingerprints, DNA,Genetic Fingerprintings,Profiling, DNA,Typing, DNA,Typings, DNA
D016360 Clostridioides difficile A common inhabitant of the colon flora in human infants and sometimes in adults. The type species Clostridioides difficile is formerly known as Clostridium difficile. It is a causative agent for CLOSTRIDIOIDES INFECTIONS and is associated with PSEUDOMEMBRANOUS ENTEROCOLITIS in patients receiving antibiotic therapy. Clostridium difficile
D017053 Infection Control Programs of disease surveillance, generally within health care facilities, designed to investigate, prevent, and control the spread of infections and their causative microorganisms. Control, Infection

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