Drinking-water supply *
Jamie Bartram, Rachel Baum, Peter A. Coclanis, David M. Gute, David Kay, Stéphanie McFadyen, Katherine Pond, William Robertson, Michael J. Rouse in Routledge Handbook of Water and Health, 2015
Water in both community sources and piped systems is often disinfected. This refers to reducing infectious particles (bacteria, viruses, protozoa) to concentrations at which they represent a negligible risk to health. It may be achieved through removal (filtration), chemical agents (such as chlorine) or physical agents (such as ultraviolet light). Water treatment is addressed in Chapter 19. The term ‘residual disinfection’ refers to treatments which leave some concentration of an oxidizing chemical, such as chlorine, in the water. This residual provides some degree of protection against contamination during distribution and storage. The concentration must be acceptable to consumers but also effective in microbial inactivation. WHO, for example, recommends that a minimum of 0.2 mg/l of chlorine be maintained throughout a piped distribution system, including its most remote parts, but that the concentration not exceed 0.5 mg/l to minimize the risk of infringing consumer acceptability (taste and odour) and thus drive consumers to use alternative, potentially more dangerous, sources.
Infection prevention and control
Nicola Neale, Joanne Sale in Developing Practical Nursing Skills, 2022
Routine cleaning of non-individual contact surfaces and equipment such as telephones and keyboards can be carried out using general purpose neutral detergent (wipes or solution plus disposable cloth). Based on the premise that all people have the potential to be colonised/infected by pathogenic organisms, to make sure that reusable care-associated equipment and the person’s immediate environment are safe to use, disinfection is generally required. There are a large range of disinfectant wipes and solutions available but most ‘National’ guidance documents recommend cleaning with detergent followed by the use of a chlorine-based disinfectant (1000 ppm available chlorine) and disposable cloths for routine disinfection (e.g. DH 2020; PHE 2020a). There are a variety of products that contain both detergent and chlorine-releasing agent, i.e. Chlor-Clean, SoChlor, which reduce the time taken to disinfect an area/item. To safely disinfect surfaces contaminated by blood, a 10,000 ppm chlorine solution is required (i.e. Haztabs, Precept, Actichlor).
Emerging Nanotechnology-Enabled Approaches to Mitigate COVID-19 Pandemic
Devarajan Thangadurai, Saher Islam, Charles Oluwaseun Adetunji in Viral and Antiviral Nanomaterials, 2022
COVID-19 is highly contagious due to its diverse routes of transmission. Current research demonstrates that SARS-CoV-2 can easily spread by touching contaminated surfaces and micro-droplets emitted from infected persons. It can survive for 3 hours in air, 24 hours on cardboard, 72 hours on plastics, 4 hours on copper and 48 hours on stainless steel (Van Doremalen et al. 2020). It is recommended to use chemical and physical disinfectants to mitigate contamination. In this context, disinfectants, sanitisers, and PPE are significantly important (WHO 2020a). Many different disinfectant agents are recommended in literature, including soaps/surfactants, alcohols, sodium hypochlorite, and hydrogen peroxide, etc. (Du et al. 2018). According to a recent study on perspectives of COVID-19, drawbacks of currently used disinfectants are highlighted to search for more effectual disinfectants and sanitisers (Lei et al. 2020).
Fatty acids, esters, and biogenic oil disinfectants: novel agents against bacteria
Published in Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings, 2023
Aruna Lamba, Jonathan Kopel, David Westenberg, Shubhender Kapila
In recent years, there has been a growing need to develop new and safe antimicrobial agents against various microorganisms in medical devices, the food industry, and storage spaces.1 Disinfectants are antimicrobial agents applied to nonliving objects to destroy microorganisms through a process known as disinfection. Disinfectants are distinguished from antibiotics in that antibiotics destroy or inhibit microorganisms within the body while disinfectants destroy microorganisms on the surface on living tissue and inanimate objects. Furthermore, agents used to eliminate pathogens on the surface are classified as either disinfectants or sterilization. The two methods are distinguished by the presence or absence of an endospore. Specifically, disinfection is the removal of pathogens while leaving endospores in place, whereas sterilization is the total destruction of both endospores and pathogens. Disinfectants are abundantly used in hospital laboratories and other health care facilities to treat different surfaces.2
Infection Prevention: 2020 Review and Update for Neurodiagnostic Technologists
Published in The Neurodiagnostic Journal, 2020
Anna M. Bonner, Petra Davidson
The understanding of a concept is paramount in order to properly perform a task. Neurodiagnostic technologists must understand the need for disinfection and the appropriate level of disinfection for equipment and patient care items in addition to knowing how to perform the process correctly. Following proper cleaning procedures, disinfection removes or destroys some pathogens that remain on an item but are not visible to the eye and is accomplished by exposure to a chemical or solution for a required amount of time. The duration of exposure to a disinfectant is generally determined by the type and number of pathogens, which is tested by manufacturer and/or regulatory scientists in order to recommend instructions for use of the solution. Exposure to a liquid disinfectant means keeping the item moistened with or submersed in the solution for a specified length of time. Disinfectants used must be hospital-grade, registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a disinfectant, and have product labeling claim to be tuberculocidal and additionally complies with OSHA’s requirements for Occupational Exposure to BBPs (29 CFR 1910) (EPA 2017, 2018; OSHA 2012).
Viricidal treatments for prevention of coronavirus infection
Published in Pathogens and Global Health, 2020
Manoj Khokhar, Dipayan Roy, Purvi Purohit, Manu Goyal, Puneet Setia
Coronaviruses are highly infectious, and novel coronavirus SARS CoV-2 has the menacing feature of longer persistence in the environment and various inanimate surfaces. Additionally, persistent lack of specific antiviral treatments makes it a challenging entity for the development of efficacious means of prevention. Under such alarming conditions, disinfection for personal hygiene as well as disinfection of various hospital areas, medical devices, and medical personnel protection is a primary modality of controlling the spread of this virus. Available antiseptic-disinfectants should be fundamentally and rigorously evaluated in this health crisis. However, few chemicals are efficient enough within a specific contact time and without toxicity. Formulations having the presence of multiple disinfectants may be considered. Among the major chemical formulations that can be useful, alcohol and chlorhexidine-based disinfectants and sodium hypochlorite and benzalkonium chloride solutions are primary choices. These are tried and tested in various hospital settings and medical personnel use have shown robustness in viricidal action. An effective disinfection strategy used by healthcare service providers and by individuals has the potential to go a long way in fighting this global pandemic.
Related Knowledge Centers
- Antibiotic
- Antiseptic
- Bacteria
- Biocide
- Endospore
- Sterilization
- Tissue
- Virus
- Sewage Treatment
- Chlorine