title: Efficacy of a dish detergent in reducing populations of STI organisms in inoculated female condoms.
abstract: We assessed the efficacy of dish detergent in removing Neisseria gonorrhoeae, HIV-1, herpes simplex virus type 2 and Chlamydia trachomatis organisms from the surface of inoculated female condoms. The reductions achieved in organism counts with dish detergent were compared with those for household bleach and water. New (out-of-package) and pre-washed/re-lubricated female condoms were used. Dish detergent was as efficacious as bleach in reducing organism counts from the surface of inoculated female condoms. Both bleach and dish detergent performed better than water, although >3 log(10) reductions were achieved with water alone. There was little difference in organism reduction between new and pre-washed condoms. Furthermore, 30 seconds of mechanical agitation (washing) had minimal added impact on organism removal. Reduction in organism counts with water alone suggests that dilution effect may have been as important in organism removal as the microbicidal properties of the detergent.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Department, Family Health International, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA. cjoanis@fhi.org
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Joanis
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gomez
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ramm
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rottjakob
mesh_terms: D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000517:prevention & control; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000187:drug effects; D019111:Single-Use Internal Condom / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000821:virology; D003902:Detergents; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000187:drug effects; D018258:Herpesvirus 2, Human / Q000187:drug effects; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015229:Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Viral / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012973:Sodium Hypochlorite
chemical_list: D003902:Detergents; D012973:Sodium Hypochlorite