Kathleen C. Engelbrecht

Decreased activity of commercially available disinfectants containing quaternary ammonium compounds when exposed to cotton towels

BACKGROUND Health care-associated infections (HAIs) are a significant problem in hospitals, and environmental surfaces have been implicated as a source of HAIs in the hospital environment. Furthermore, Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria can persist on dry environmental surfaces for as long as several months. Poorly cleaned surfaces may serve as vehicles for microbes, which may then be transferred to patients. METHODS Cotton and microfiber towels were both tested for their abilities to bind quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs). The towels were exposed to 3 commercially available disinfectants for 0.5, 30, and 180 minutes. Germicidal spray tests (GSTs) were performed for all towel eluates in accordance with the AOAC International method 961.02. Cotton towel eluates were analyzed for QAC concentration using high-performance liquid chromatography. RESULTS QAC concentrations were reduced by up to 85.3% after exposure to cotton towels, resulting in failure of the disinfectants exposed to cotton towels in 96% of the GSTs. CONCLUSION The use of cotton towels with QAC-based cleansers should be reconsidered, particularly in hospitals where effective cleaning of the patient environment is needed to reduce the risk of HAIs.

Microbial contamination of hospital reusable cleaning towels

BACKGROUND Hospital cleaning practices are critical to the prevention of nosocomial infection transmission. To this end, cloth towels soaked in disinfectants are commonly used to clean and disinfect hospital surfaces. Cloth cleaning towels have been linked to an outbreak of Bacillus cereus and have been shown to reduce the effectiveness of commonly used quaternary ammonium disinfectants. Thus, it is important to determine whether the reuse of cloth towels increases the risk of pathogen transmission in hospitals. METHODS The goal of this project was to determine the effects of laundry and cleaning practices commonly used in hospitals for washing, storage, and disinfection of cloth cleaning towels on their microbial loads. RESULTS Our results indicate that cloth towels used for cleaning hospital rooms contained high numbers of microbial contaminants. CONCLUSIONS In this case, hospital laundering practices appear insufficient to remove microbial contaminants and may even add contaminants to the towels. Furthermore, it has been previously reported that towels can interfere with the action of common hospital disinfectants. Either independently or in combination, these 2 factors may increase the risk for transmission of pathogens in hospitals. These observations indicate the need to critically reevaluate current hospital cleaning practices associated with reuse of cloth towels.

Draft Genome Sequence of Escherichia coli K-12 (ATCC 10798)

ABSTRACT Here, we present the draft genome sequence of Escherichia coli ATCC 10798. E. coli ATCC 10798 is a K-12 strain, one of the most well-studied model microorganisms. The size of the genome was 4,685,496 bp, with a G+C content of 50.70%. This assembly consists of 62 contigs and the F plasmid.

Draft Genome Sequence of Enterococcus faecalis ATCC BAA-2128

ABSTRACT While a part of the native gut microflora, the Gram-positive bacterium Enterococcus faecalis can lead to serious infections elsewhere in the body. The draft genome of E. faecalis strain ATCC BAA-2128, isolated from piglet feces, was examined. This draft genome consists of 42 contigs, 12 of which exhibit homology to annotated plasmids.

Draft Genome Sequence of Micrococcus luteus (Schroeter) Cohn (ATCC 12698)

ABSTRACT The actinobacterium Micrococcus luteus can be found in a wide variety of habitats. Here, we report the 2,411,958-bp draft genome sequence of the type strain M. leuteus (Schroeter) Cohn (ATCC 12698). Characteristic of this taxa, the genome sequence has a high G+C content, 73.14%.

Draft Genome Sequence of Staphylococcus epidermidis (Winslow and Winslow) Evans (ATCC 14990)

ABSTRACT Here, we report the draft genome sequence for the type strain Staphylococcus epidermidis (Winslow and Winslow) Evans (ATCC 14990). The assembly consisted of 2,457,519 bp with an observed G+C content of 32.04%. Thirty-seven contigs were produced, including two putative plasmids, with a 296.8× coverage and an N50 of 180,848 bp.

Draft Genome Sequences of Two ATCC Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus Strains

ABSTRACT Draft genome sequences for Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus Rosenbach ATCC 14458 and ATCC 27217 strains were investigated. The genome sizes were 2,880,761 bp and 2,759,100 bp, respectively. Strain ATCC 14458 was assembled into 39 contigs, including 3 plasmids, and strain ATCC 27217 was assembled into 25 contigs, including 2 plasmids.