Evaluation of Sanitizing and Inactivation Efficacy of Wet Wipes against Bacteria and Viruses

Abstract

 Cleaning of environmental surfaces, as well as hand hygiene, is very important to prevent infection caused by microbes found in the environment of medical facilities, and disinfection is also required for environmental infection control in some cases. Recently, wet wipes made of nonwoven fabric impregnated with cleaner or disinfectant (medicinal solution) have been widely used for maintenance of the hospital environment. Evaluation of the sanitizing efficacy of wet wipes has mainly been based on allowing only the medicinal solution to contact with the test microbe, although the effectiveness of the product might be affected by adsorption of the medicinal solution into the fabric. This study evaluated the antibacterial and virus inactivation efficacy of three commercial products (brand A, brand B, and brand C) and wet wipes impregnated with Ethanol for Disinfection (ethanol wipes) using (1) a quantitative suspension test in which the solution squeezed from each test product was allowed to contact with the test microbe, and (2) a fabric wipe-processing test in which the contaminated surface was wiped off with each test product. Brand A demonstrated superior effect against the test microbes in both the quantitative suspension test and fabric wipe-processing test in comparison with brand B and brand C. Brand A was also superior to ethanol wipes for virus inactivation in the fabric wipe-processing test. Brand B, brand C, and ethanol wipes showed apparent differences between the results of the quantitative suspension test and fabric wipe-processing test. These results suggest that the combination of both tests is useful for rigorous evaluation of the effectiveness of wet wipes.