Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-nmvwc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-05T12:47:11.417Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Comparative Efficacy of Handwashing Agents against Cytomegalovirus

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Roger G. Faix
Roger G. Faix*
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, Section of Newborn Services, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
*
Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, Section of Newborn Services, Box 0254, L3023, Women's Hospital, Ann Arbor, Ml 48109-0254
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Conscientious handwashing is often recommended as an important method for limiting transmission of cytomegalovirus (CMV) from infected individuals to health, education, and child care professionals. To assess the efficacy of handwashing, fingertips of radiation-sterilized latex gloves were inoculated with 0.2 mL of ten different CMV strains. Virus in each inoculum was quantitated by plaque assay. After five minutes, viral inocula were allowed to remain (control), or were washed away by dropwise application of 10 mL of distilled water (DI), 5 mL of 0.08% soap followed by 5 mL of DI, 5 mL of 0.01% Chlorhexidine gluconate followed by 5 mL of DI, or 5 mL of 0.025% povidone-iodine solution followed by 5 mL of DI. Separate glove fingertips were sampled 5, 15, 30, 60, 120 and 240 minutes after washing and cultured in duplicate for CMV. Similar studies were performed using human cadaver skin. Ordinary soap was as effective at preventing CMV recovery as other more expensive agents. For inocula with <5 log10 pfu CMV/mL, washing with water alone was as effective as other agents. This was confirmed in similar studies with human hands using five CMV stains. Handwashing is probably an effective method for removing CMV from contaminated hands.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 8 , Issue 4 , April 1987 , pp. 158 - 162
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1987

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Lang, DJ: Acquired cytomegalovirus infections, in Feigin, RD, Cherry, JD (eds): Textbook of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. Philadelphia, WB Saunders Company, 1981, pp 1192–1196.Google Scholar
2.Spector, SA: Transmission of cytomegalovirus among infants in hospital documented by restriction-endonuclease-digestion analysis. Lancet 1983; 1:378–381.Google Scholar
3.Dworsky, ME, Welch, K, Cassady, G, et al: Occupational risk for primary cytomegalovirus infection among pediatric health care workers. N Engl J Med 1983; 309:950–953.Google Scholar
4.Ahlfors, K, Ivarsson, SA, Johnson, T, et al: Risk of cytomegalovirus infections in nurses and congenital infection in their offspring. Acta Paedialr Scand 1981; 70:819–823.Google Scholar
5.Yeager, AS: Longitudinal, serological study of cytomegalovirus infections in nurses and in personnel without patient contact. J Clin Microbiol 1975; 2:448–452.Google Scholar
6.Friedman, HM, Lewis, MR, Nemerofsky, DM, et al: Acquisition of cytomegalovirus infection among female employees at a pediatric hospital. Pediatr Infect Dis 1984; 3:233–235.Google Scholar
7.Bale, JF Jr, Blackman, JA, Murph, J, et al: Congenital cytomegalovirus infection: Information for educational personnel. Am J Dis Child 1986; 140:128–131.Google Scholar
8.Faix, RG: Survival of cytomegalovirus on environmental surfaces. J Pediatr 1985; 106:649–652.Google Scholar
9.Hutto, C, Pass, RF: Isolation of cytomegalovirus from toys and hands in a day care center. Pediatr Res 1985;19:202A.Google Scholar
10.Hall, CB, Douglas, RG Jr: Modes of spread of respiratory syncytial virus. Pediatr Res 1980;14:558.Google Scholar
11.Gwaltney, JM, Moskalski, PB, Hendley, JO: Hand-to-hand transmission of rhinovirus colds. Ann Intern Med 1978; 88:463–467.Google Scholar
12.Child Day Care Infectious Disease Study Group: Public health considerations of infectious diseases in child day care centers. J Pediatr 1984; 105:683–701.Google Scholar
13.Pass, RF. Kinney, JS: Child care workers and children with congenital cytomegalovirus infection. Pediatrics 1985; 75:971–972.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14.Stagno, S: Isolation precautions for patients with cytomegalovirus infection. Pediatr Infect Dis 1982; 1:145–147.Google Scholar
15.Chou, S, Merigan, TC: Rapid detection and quantitation of human cytomegalovirus in urine through DNA hybridization. N Engl J Med 1983; 308:921–925.Google Scholar
16.Vonka, V, Benyesh-Melnick, M: Thermoinactivation of human cytomegalovirus, J Bacteriol 1966; 91:221–226.Google Scholar