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WEDNESDAY, Oct. 17, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Clostridium difficile<\/i> spores are able to survive laundering through a commercial washer extractor, according to a study published online Oct. 16 in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Joanna Tarrant, Ph.D., from De Montfort University in Leicester, U.K., and colleagues inoculated C. difficile<\/i> spores onto cotton sheets, which were laundered through a simulated washer extractor cycle using an industrial bleach detergent. Spore survival was also assessed on hospital sheets naturally contaminated with C. difficile<\/i> and washed using a washer extractor plus drying and finishing cycles at a commercial laundry.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that two strains of C. difficile<\/i>, NCTC 11209 and ribotype 001\/072, survived the simulated washer extractor cycle with an industrial detergent. Naturally contaminated bed sheets had an average spore load of 51 colony forming units (cfu) per 25 cm\u00b2 before laundering; after washing, drying, and finishing, the spore load was 33 cfu\/25 cm\u00b2. The C. difficile<\/i> strain was identified as ribotype 001\/072 before and after washing. Neither the simulated nor in-situ laundering processes met the micropathological standards of no pathogenic bacteria remaining.<\/p>\n
“The findings of this study may explain some sporadic outbreaks of C. difficile<\/i> infections in hospitals from unknown sources; however, further research is required in order to establish the true burden of hospital bedsheets in such outbreaks,” a coauthor said in a statement.<\/p>\n