One of the primary chlorine disinfectants currently being used to clean hospital scrubs and surfaces does not kill off the most common cause of antibiotic associated sickness in healthcare settings globally, according to a new study.
Research by the University of Plymouth has showed spores of Clostridioides difficile, commonly known as C. diff, are completely unaffected despite being treated with high concentrations of bleach used in many hospitals.
In fact, the chlorine chemicals are no more effective at damaging the spores when used as a surface disinfectant than using water with no additives.
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Subscribe for FREEWriting in the journal Microbiology, the study’s authors say susceptible people working and being treated in clinical settings might be unknowingly placed at risk of contracting the superbug.
As a result, and with incidence of biocide overuse only serving to fuel rises in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) worldwide, they have called for urgent research to find alternative strategies to disinfect C. diff spores in order to break the chain of transmission in clinical environments.
C. diff is a microbe that causes diarrhoea, colitis and other bowel complications and is known to infect millions of people all over the world each year.
It causes around 29,000 deaths per year in the USA, and almost 8,500 in Europe, with the most recent data showing that incidence of C. diff infection was increasing prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.
Previously, Dr Joshi and colleagues had demonstrated the ability of C. diff spores to survive exposure to recommended concentrations of sodium dichloroisocyanurate in liquid form and within personal protective fabrics such as surgical gowns.
The new study examined the spore response of three different strains of C. diff to three clinical in-use concentrations of sodium hypochlorite. The spores were then spiked onto surgical scrubs and patient gowns, and examined using scanning electron microscopes to establish whether there were any morphological changes to the outer spore coat.
Dr Joshi, who is on the Microbiology Society Council and co-chairs their Impact & Influence Committee, added:
