Experts Issue Reminders on Proper Usage of Wipes to Reduce Cross-Contamination

The team, led by Jean-Yves Maillard, BSc, PhD, senior lecturer in pharmaceutical microbiology at the Welsh School of Pharmacy at Cardiff University, is now calling for a “one wipe, one application per surface” approach to infection prevention and control in healthcare environments.

“The use of wipes is a relatively new addition to the measures available for infection control,” Maillard says. “Wipes are easy and rapid to use. In addition some wipes are good at removing a microbial bioburden dried on a surface. By reducing microbial contaminant from a surface, notably a surface proximal to the patient (e.g., a bed rail), then the risk of transferring microorganisms to the patient or the healthcare worker (HCW) will be reduced. However, like all control measure, wipes have to be used appropriately. One of the risks associated with the use of wipes is the transfer of microorganisms to other surfaces. If wipes are use only once on one surface, then the risk of transferring microorganisms removed from a surface would be low.”

The Cardiff University research involved a surveillance program observing hospital staff using surface wipes to decontaminate surfaces commonly touched by HCWs and patients, such as monitors, bed rails, tables and key pads. It was found that the wipes were being applied to the same surface several times and used on consecutive surfaces before being discarded. These actions were then replicated in the lab alongside a three-step system, developed by the research team to test the ability of several commercially available wipes to disinfect surfaces contaminated with strains Staphylococcus aureus, including MRSA and MSSA. The system tested the removal of pathogens, the transmission of them, and the anti-microbial properties of wipes. The study revealed that although some wipes can remove higher numbers of bacteria from surfaces than others, the wipes tested were unable to kill the bacteria removed. As a result, high numbers of bacteria were transferred to other surfaces when reused.