Resistance of enterococci to heat and chemical agents.
Within the framework of the standardisation efforts on disinfectant testing on the European level the test germ Enterococcus hirae ATCC 10541 has been included for some time in the test requirements whereas the test strain Enterococcus faecium, which has frequently been used up to now, has been largely ignored. We compared the thermal and the chemical resistance of both test germ species. In the quantitative suspension test with active ingredients from the group of aldehydes, phenols, quaternaries and oxidizing agents with the exception of peracetic acid, no significant differences were determined between the two strains. In the case of the studies on thermal resistance at 65 degrees C and 68 degrees C, Enterococcus faecium ATCC 6057, by contrast, proved to be far more resistant than Enterococcus hirae ATCC 10541. According to these results, priority should be given to Enterococcus faecium over Enterococcus hirae as the test germ for chemical and also chemothermal disinfection.
Robert Koch-Institute, Berlin and Bad Elster.
P
P
Renner
J
J
Peters
D001548:Benzalkonium Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology; D002700:Chloramines / Q000494:pharmacology; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003408:Cresols / Q000494:pharmacology; D004202:Disinfectants / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000592:standards; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D016983:Enterococcus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D016984:Enterococcus faecium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D005062:European Union; D005557:Formaldehyde / Q000494:pharmacology; D005976:Glutaral / Q000494:pharmacology; D006358:Hot Temperature; D010463:Peracetic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D014105:Tosyl Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology
D001548:Benzalkonium Compounds; D002700:Chloramines; D003408:Cresols; D004202:Disinfectants; D014105:Tosyl Compounds; C016300:chloramine-T; D005557:Formaldehyde; C042041:3-cresol; D010463:Peracetic Acid; C015163:dimethyldodecylbenzylammonium; D005976:Glutaral