title: Wide-spectrum activity of a silver-impregnated fabric.
abstract: Fabrics, such as clothing, drapes, pillowcases, and bedsheets are potential sources of pathogenic bacteria and viruses. We found fabrics (ie, professional clothing, pillowcases, and lab coats) treated with a silver-impregnated material to be effective in significantly reducing a wide spectrum of ordinary and drug-resistant microorganisms, including Salmonella, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Propionibacterium acnes, Trichphyton mentagrophytes, and norovirus. Fabrics impregnated with antimicrobial agents help provide an additional barrier to the transport or reservoir of pathogens in health care environments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil, Water, and Environmental Science, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.
authors.forename: Charles P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Gerba
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil, Water, and Environmental Science, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.
authors.forename: Laura Y
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Sifuentes
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil, Water, and Environmental Science, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ; School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ. Electronic address: lopezg3@email.arizona.edu.
authors.forename: Gerardo U
authors.initials: GU
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil, Water, and Environmental Science, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ; Environmental Virology Laboratory, Department of Water Pollution Research, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Sherif
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abd-Elmaksoud
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil, Water, and Environmental Science, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.
authors.forename: Jesse
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Calabrese
authors.affiliation: Antimicrobial Test Laboratories, Round Rock, TX.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tanner
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods*; D029322:Norovirus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012834:Silver / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013784:Textiles; D014249:Trichophyton / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D012834:Silver
keywords: Antimicrobial; Bacteria; Drug-resistant bacteria; Fungi; Spores; Viruses