Washing with contaminated bar soap is unlikely to transfer bacteria
Recent reports of the isolation of microorganisms from used soap bars have raised the concern that bacteria may be transferred from contaminated soap bars during handwashing. Since only one study addressing this question has been published, we developed an additional procedure to test this concern....
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Published in | Epidemiology and infection Vol. 101; no. 1; pp. 135 - 142 |
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Main Authors | , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Cambridge, UK
Cambridge University Press
01.08.1988
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Recent reports of the isolation of microorganisms from used soap bars have raised the concern that bacteria may be transferred from contaminated soap bars during handwashing. Since only one study addressing this question has been published, we developed an additional procedure to test this concern. In our new method prewashed and softened commercial deodorant soap bars (0·8% triclocarban) not active against Gram-negative bacteria were inoculated with Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa to give mean total survival levels of 4·4 × 105 c.f.u. per bar which was 70-fold higher than those reported on used soap bars. Sixteen panelists were instructed to wash with the inoculated bars using their normal handwashing procedure. After washing, none of the 16 panelists had detectable levels of either test bacterium on their hands. Thus, the results obtained using our new method were in complete agreement with those obtained with the previously published method even though the two methods differ in a number of procedural aspects. These findings, along with other published reports, show that little hazard exists in routine handwashing with previously used soap bars and support the frequent use of soap and water for handwashing to prevent the spread of disease. |
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Bibliography: | ArticleID:02929 ark:/67375/6GQ-GJK2G68Q-7 PII:S0950268800029290 istex:B797DBA61D82537039D8B3988A6BD32E4AEF2DBF ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 |
ISSN: | 0950-2688 1469-4409 |
DOI: | 10.1017/S0950268800029290 |