RESUMO
Despite considerable efforts, healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) continue to be globally responsible for serious morbidity, increased costs and prolonged length of stay. Among potentially preventable sources of microbial pathogens causing HAIs, patient care items and environmental surfaces frequently touched play an important role in the chain of transmission. Microorganisms contaminating such high-touch surfaces include Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, viruses, yeasts and parasites, with improved cleaning and disinfection effectively decreasing the rate of HAIs. Manual and automated surface cleaning strategies used in the control of infectious outbreaks are discussed and current trends concerning the prevention of contamination by the use of antimicrobial surfaces are taken into consideration in this manuscript.
Assuntos
Bactérias/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Infecção Hospitalar/prevenção & controle , Desinfecção/métodos , Equipamentos e Provisões Hospitalares/microbiologia , Equipamentos e Provisões Hospitalares/parasitologia , Fungos/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Parasitos/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Vírus/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Animais , Bactérias/efeitos dos fármacos , Infecção Hospitalar/microbiologia , Infecção Hospitalar/mortalidade , Descontaminação/métodos , Desinfetantes/farmacologia , Fungos/efeitos dos fármacos , Humanos , Parasitos/efeitos dos fármacos , Vírus/efeitos dos fármacosRESUMO
The opportunistic protozoan Cryptosporidium parvum is highly resistant to disinfectants, including those specifically used for processing reused medical equipment in hospitals. C. parvum oocysts were dried onto glass and steel grooved penicylinders and challenged with 2.5% glutaraldehyde solution in the presence of 3 types of soil with exposures at 10 min, 90 min, and 10 h. The influence of organic soils on disinfection was measured with 5% fetal bovine serum (FBS), 10% FBS, and 5 mg mucin/mL. An in vitro excystation procedure and cell culture infection assay were used to determine survivability of oocysts after the germicide challenge. In the presence of organic soil, all oocysts removed from carriers excysted and infected cell monolayers after all germicide contact times. However, excystation was observed only from oocysts that received no protection from organic soil after 10 h exposure. In these samples, no infection was observed in the cell monolayers. The results of this research demonstrate the importance of thorough cleaning of medical equipment before disinfection.
