Disinfecting is a difficult task, but an integral part of your facility's infection prevention risk plan because, as an Infection Preventionist, you need to pick the right type of product for the right job.
To ensure you purchase the right disinfecting product for your facility's needs, it is important to start by reading each product's label, which should list efficacy claims by class of microorganism — including bacteria, viruses, mycobacterium (TB), and fungi. This is so you know what the product can — and can't — do. Next, take a close look at the product's efficacy claims, which are available from the product's manufacturer. Then review ancillary materials, such as the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) instructions.
Overall, the broader spectrum of a product's efficacy, the more effective the product will be against a wide variety of gram positive and gram negative bacteria. And, with the continual emergence of new and mutated Multi-Drug Resistant Organisms (MDROs), it is strongly recommended that Infection Preventionists seek products with broad general bactericidal efficacy as well as products that have demonstrated effectiveness against organisms such as Multi-Drug Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii , ESBL producing organisms such as Escherichia coli, and Carbapenem Resistant organisms such as Klebseilla pneumonia. Products with efficacy against these more resistant pathogens will assist the Infection Preventionist in combating the daily threats of these microorganisms.
Increasingly, more prevalent are fungal organisms being recovered in the healthcare environment, such as Candida albicans and Aspergillus. When evaluating fungal efficacy claims, seek products with efficacy against pathogenic fungal organisms that are clinically relevant based on the facility's risk assessment.
Also of concern to the users of healthcare disinfectants are viruses, particularly bloodborne pathogens and those with the potential for causing outbreaks (i.e.: norovirus, Influenza and rotavirus). You should expect – and require – claims against bloodborne pathogens such as HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. And seek products with other efficacy claims, including enveloped and non-enveloped viruses where appropriate.
Other areas to review when evaluating microorganism efficacy claims: Your facility's infection prevention risk assessment and infection prevention and control plan, as well as your pharmacy antibiogram to ensure proper selection of a product with relevant pathogenic efficacy claims.
In the United States, all disinfectants must be registered with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the federal government agency responsible for approval of all products containing ingredients with the potential to enter the environment. Once a product is approved by the EPA, the manufacturer will receive an EPA registration number for that specific product and will assign an establishment number to the manufacturer and specific locations because it of the importance of evaluating microorganism claims on environmental disinfection products.
J. Hudson Garrett Jr., Ph.D, is the director of clinical affairs at PDI Healthcare.