Staphylococcus aureus recovery from cotton towels

Abstract

Background: Staphylococcus aureus is an emerging pathogen afflicting healthy individuals without known risk factors, and methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus has been shown to colonize multiple family members sharing households. Because household items such as towels are often shared by family members, this study investigated whether cotton towel absorbency or washing conditions affect Staphylococcus aureus cell viability or cell retention, and whether the levels may be sufficient for person-to-person transmission. Methodology: Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 was added to a 48 mm 2 template area on three cotton towel types (terry, pima, and Egyptian), and subjected to hand washing, without manual wringing, in three conditions (water only, bleach addition, or liquid detergent addition). Serial dilutions plated onto mannitol salt plates quantified bacteria for inoculations, pre-and post-wash water samples, towel surfaces, and hand transfer. Hand transfer of bacteria was determined on towels immediately, one, 24, and 48 hours post inoculation. Results: Bleach (p ≤ .05) was the most effective at reducing bacterial viability on all towel types compared to detergent and water. Although not statistically significant, more Staphylococcus colonies were recovered from higher absorbency towels and from inside directly inoculated template areas. A paired t-test showed a difference between immediate and one-hour CFUs versus 24-and 48-hour recoveries (0.0002) for hand transfers. Conclusions: Cell viability decreased for over 48 hours on towels, but sufficient quantities may remain for colonization. More absorbent towels may harbor more Staphylococci than less absorbent ones, and may serve as a transmission mechanism for the bacterium.

Dynamics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus carriage in pig farmers: a prospective cohort study

“…The borderline significant negative association of contact with cats on MRSA carriage could not be verified in literature: companion animals and their owners seem to exchange MRSA rather than protecting each other , with cats in lower amounts than with dogs . The borderline risk factor of washing hands can be explained by the fact that MRSA is able to survive for days on water taps, towels and soap . Reversed causality might have been another possibility; farmers might have washed their hands more often when working in a stable with much dust.…”

The effect of low-temperature laundering and detergents on the survival ofEscherichia coliandStaphylococcus aureuson textiles used in healthcare uniforms

“…Survival (log (10) ) of micro-organisms at different detergency treatment conditions study show, a biological detergent (does not contain bleach) used in a 40°C wash, resulted in the textiles still having contamination from a high initial inoculum ( Table 2). The ability of micro-organisms to survive on textile surfaces is not disputed, however, limited evidence exists surrounding the survival of micro-organisms in household detergents and postdomestic laundering of nurses' uniforms and how this impacts on cross-contamination of healthcare-associated infections (Neeley and Maley 2000;Oller and Mitchell 2009;Mcgovern et al 2010& Woodland et al 2010. In a study conducted by Oller and Mitchell (2009), Egyptian cotton towels inoculated with S. aureus (10 8 ) postwash in water and a water and detergent solution resulted in a survival of between 2 log (10) and 3 log (10) , after 48 h, cells were still viable.…”

“…The ability of micro-organisms to survive on textile surfaces is not disputed, however, limited evidence exists surrounding the survival of micro-organisms in household detergents and postdomestic laundering of nurses' uniforms and how this impacts on cross-contamination of healthcare-associated infections (Neeley and Maley 2000;Oller and Mitchell 2009;Mcgovern et al 2010& Woodland et al 2010. In a study conducted by Oller and Mitchell (2009), Egyptian cotton towels inoculated with S. aureus (10 8 ) postwash in water and a water and detergent solution resulted in a survival of between 2 log (10) and 3 log (10) , after 48 h, cells were still viable. Neeley and Maley (2000) also found that S. aureus survived on cotton for 16-21 days and on polyester for up to 56 days.…”

Contamination of Environmental Surfaces WithStaphylococcus aureusin Households With Children Infected With Methicillin-ResistantS aureus

“…5,6,11–13 A case-control study in Manhattan found that household environments of patients with recent MRSA infections were more likely to be contaminated with MRSA compared to control households. 9 Additionally, transmission of MRSA between pets and humans has been proposed, but the directionality is unclear.…”