title: Microbicidal effects of ozone solution on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
abstract: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus has become an important problem in chemotherapy in the past decade because of its resistance to commonly used disinfectants. The usefulness of ozone solutions to disinfect against strains of this bacterium has been evaluated. Ozone strongly oxidizes the cell walls and cytoplasmic membranes of bacteria. The microbicidal effect of ozone solutions took place within the first five seconds of treatment. An ozone concentration 1.5 times that needed to kill the one methicillin-sensitive strain tested was sufficient to kill the resistant clinical isolates. Such an ozone solution could be used to disinfect medical instruments and similar equipment. Ozone solutions should be useful in reducing the number of bacterial infections caused by inadequate disinfection against new resistant strains.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Microbiology, Osaka Prefectural Institute of Public Health, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamayoshi
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tatsumi
mesh_terms: D004202:Disinfectants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010126:Ozone / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects*; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D004202:Disinfectants; D010126:Ozone