title: Three swipes and you're out: how many swipes are needed to decontaminate plastic with disposable wipes?
abstract: At our hospital, health care workers use commercially available wipes to reduce bacterial counts on plastic surfaces. The workers use the wipes in a cursory fashion--swiping objects once for one to two seconds. We sought to measure the ability of wipes to reduce bacterial counts when swiped across plastic surfaces using various routines.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Andrea E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Berendt
authors.affiliation: Medical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta Hospitals, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: LeeAnn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Turnbull
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta and Stollery Children's Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Donald
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Spady
authors.affiliation: Medical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta Hospitals, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rennie
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta and Stollery Children's Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address: sarah.forgie@albertahealthservices.ca.
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Forgie
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D058491:Bacterial Load / Q000187:drug effects*; D003666:Decontamination / Q000379:methods*; D004202:Disinfectants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004866:Equipment Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control*; D050456:Fomites; D010865:Pilot Projects; D010969:Plastics
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004202:Disinfectants; D010969:Plastics