|Articles|July 9, 2003

EPA-Registered ShockWave by Fiberlock Technologies Meets Interim Recommendations for Cleaning and Disinfecting SARS-Contaminated Environments

ANDOVER, Mass. -- The threat of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has escalated the need for proper disinfection and cleaning measures to prevent further spread of the disease, according to Fiberlock Technologies, Inc., a leader in environmental bioscience technology.

While there are no SARS-specific products, the company today announced its ShockWave" sanitizer/disinfectant/cleaner concentrate meets interim guidelines for cleaning and disinfecting SARS patient environments, as outlined in a report recently issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

According to the CDC report, only EPA-registered hospital detergent-disinfectants currently used by healthcare facilities for environmental sanitation may be used as cleaning and disinfectant agents. The report maintains that viruses with physical and biochemical properties similar to SARS are known to be readily inactivated by EPA-registered germicides, like ShockWave, that provide the proscribed level of disinfection during general use.

The CDC report suggests that daily cleaning by disinfectants such as Fiberlock's ShockWave should be considered a first line of defense for reducing the microbial burden caused by SARS exposure. ShockWave is a multipurpose, EPA-registered antimicrobial specially formulated for disinfecting hard, non-porous surfaces such as counters, floors, tiles and walls, as well as sanitizing porous and semi-porous materials including carpet, drywall and wood framing. The powerful, quaternary ammonium chloride blend has been tested to kill more than 80 pathogenic and environmental microbial organisms including E. coli, salmonella, HIV, hepatitis B, herpes, influenza, measles and poliovirus, among other strains.

With companies and facilities all around the world looking for methods to protect themselves and prevent further spread of this potentially deadly disease, we want to bring to light that ShockWave meets the strict interim guidelines set forth by the CDC and can be an important tool in maintaining the highest level of hygiene, says Cole Stanton, director of sales with Fiberlock. Surfaces in healthcare facilities, airports, schools and public venues that are exposed or touched frequently may serve as reservoirs of microbial contamination by SARS, and based on the CDC report, ShockWave may help reduce further transmission through its powerful cleaning, disinfecting and sanitizing capabilities.

A recent discovery by the Key Science and Technology Group under China s National Task Force for SARS Control and Prevention reveals that the SARS virus can live for up to 15 days outside of the human body (source: China Daily), making such daily cleaning practices critical to routine infection control.

ShockWave is available exclusively through select distributors in one-gallon jugs, yielding 64 gallons of usable product when diluted 2 ounces per gallon of water, as well as convenient, 10-ounce bottles, which ensure a proper amount for 5 gallons of usable product

Source: Fiberlock Technologies


Related to this article

Infection preventionists in full PPE with children in DRC.  (Image credit: author with AI)
Nearly 4 months into the DRC's Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak, some indicators suggest transmission may be slowing. But shifting hotspots, treatment-center capacity problems, community deaths, and incomplete surveillance data show why national case totals alone cannot determine whether containment has been achieved.
Health care workers from the US speaking with other health care workers in DRC.  (Image credit: author with AI)
Is the Ebola outbreak in the DRC getting better? The answer depends on which numbers you examine. Several important indicators are moving in the right direction, including slower case growth and a declining Rₜ. But major gaps remain in contact tracing, testing, community deaths, safe burial coverage, and treatment capacity in some of the hardest-hit areas. ICT takes a deeper look at the latest outbreak data and why the numbers suggest cautious optimism, not victory.
Dyan Troxell, MSN, RN, director of clinical education at HandCraft Linen Services; J.J. Odom, MBA, CHESP, CMIP, T-CHEST, university director of buildings and grounds for UConn Health and chair-elect of the AHE Board; and Jenna Rivers, MPH, CPH, CIC, manager of infection prevention and control at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida.
At AHE Exchange 2026, ICT spoke with experts representing commercial laundry services, EVS, and infection prevention about the systems behind a successful reusable linen program. They discuss linen quality, reject rates, unnecessary waste, frontline education, data, PAR levels, infection prevention oversight, and why strong relationships between health care facilities and their laundry providers matter.
A group of students raising their hands in class during a lecture  (Adobe Stock 292282454 by Mediteraneo
How do you celebrate an infection that never happened? That's one of the unusual challenges infection preventionists share with teachers. Both can spend their careers changing outcomes they may never see. Both educate people who don't always want to listen. Both are second-guessed. Both face burnout. And both must somehow keep remembering why they started.