Candida auris is an emerging fungal pathogen that is often resistant to major classes of antifungal drugs. It is considered a serious global health threat because it can cause severe infections with frequent mortality in more than a dozen countries. It can survive on healthcare environmental surfaces for at least 7 days and can cause outbreaks in healthcare facilities. Clearly, infection prevention strategies, such as surface disinfection, will be essential to controlling Candida transmission. Unfortunately, data on the activity of antiseptics and disinfectants used in healthcare to inactivate this pathogen are limited.1–5 In this study, we investigated 12 different disinfectants (ie, 8 low- and intermediate-level disinfectants in 2 dilutions of sodium hypochlorite and 5 high-level disinfectants/chemical sterilants) and 9 antiseptics commonly used in healthcare facilities for their antimicrobial activity against C. auris and C. albicans.

We evaluated the ability of high-intensity visible violet light with a peak output of 405 nm to kill epidemiologically important pathogens. The high irradiant light significantly reduced both vegetative bacteria and spores at some time points over a 72-hour exposure period.

In this prospective study, we monitored 4 epidemiologically important pathogens (EIPs): methicillin-resistane Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), Clostridium difficile, and multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter to assess the effectiveness of 3 enhanced disinfection strategies for terminal room disinfection against standard practice. Our data demonstrated that a decrease in room contamination with EIPs of 94% was associated with a 35% decrease in subsequent patient colonization and/or infection.

We measured the disinfection of MRSA and Clostridium difficile spores using an ultraviolet C (UV-C) device, and we correlated those results to measurements and computer simulations of UV-C surface intensity. The results demonstrate both large differences in UV light intensity across various surfaces and how this leads to significant differences in disinfection.

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) only contaminated the environmental surfaces of rooms housing CRE colonized/infected patients infrequently (8.4%) and at low levels (average, 5.1 colony-forming units [CFU]/120 cm2 per contaminated surface). Three species of CRE (Klebsiella, Enterobacter, and Escherichia) survived poorly (>85% die-off in 24 hours) when ~2 log10 CFU were inoculated onto 5 different environmental surfaces.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2015;00(0): 1–4

Adult hospitalized patients with cystic fibrosis commonly receive nebulized medications. For single-patient-use nebulizers that are cleaned after each use, there is infrequent nebulizer contamination (0%–11%) with only low numbers of epidemiologically important pathogens (less than 100 colony-forming units), and this contamination is similar after 24, 48, and 72 hours of use.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2014;35(12):1553–1546

This study was designed to test the efficacy of a washer-disinfector in eliminating selected healthcare-associated pathogens from surgical instruments. Our results showed that a washer-disinfector was extremely effective in eliminating microorganisms (>7-log10 reduction), including vegetative and spore-forming bacteria, from experimentally contaminated instruments. The washer-disinfector remained effective in eliminating microorganisms in the absence of enzymatic cleaners and detergents.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2014;35(7):883–885

A total of 1,023 environmental surfaces were sampled from 45 rooms with patients infected or colonized with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) before terminal room cleaning. Colonized patients had higher median total target colony-forming units (CFU) of MRSA or VRE than did infected patients (median, 25 CFU [interquartile range, 0–106 CFU] vs 0 CFU [interquartile range, 0–29 CFU]; P = .033).

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2014;35(7):872–875

We tested the ability of an ultraviolet C (UV-C)–reflective wall coating to reduce the time necessary to decontaminate a room using a UV-C-emitting device (Tru-D SmartUVC). The reflective wall coating provided the following time reductions for decontamination: for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, from 25 minutes 13 seconds to 5 minutes 3 seconds (P < .05), and for Clostridium difficile spores, from 43 minutes 42 seconds to minutes 24 seconds (P < .05).

We tested the effectiveness of disinfectants and wipe methods against Clostridium difficile spores. Wiping with nonsporicidal agents (physical removal) was effective in removing more than 2.9 log10 C. difficile spores. Wiping with sporicidal agents eliminated more than 3.90 log10 C. difficile spores (physical removal and/or inactivation). Spraying with a sporicide eliminated more than 3.44 log10 C. difficile spores but would not remove debris.