Micro/Biology

» Rosemary Drisdelle - C difficile prevention

Your comments conjure up a mental image of future hospital lobbies studded with sinks and soap dispensers - I guess the alcohol handwash was easier to put in place on short notice for that news story! (Aside from the C. difficile issue, however, I do believe that alcohol handwash is a huge step forward in preventing the spread of many organisms hand-to-hand.)

I've recently read that a possible solution to the C. difficile problem in hospitals is to deliberately colonize patients with non-toxigenic strains - patients who are not already colonized seem to be at much greater risk of aquiring the toxigenic strains and becoming ill. I like this probiotic approach!

Rosemary Drisdelle
birds.suite101.com

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» Judy Arbique - C difficile prevention

In response to C difficile prevention posted by rdrisdelle:

Thanks for your thoughts Rosemary. I agree that alcohol-based hand pumps have helped and will continue to help with hand-cleansing compliance and the spread of bacteria that may cause infection from person to person.

However, I think it is important that we understand when it is appropriate to use a waterless compound in favor of scrubbing and washing organisms away under running water...for instance the group bloodborne pathogens consist largely of viruses. Viruses are not affected by alcohol, so that if my hands are contaminated with blood or body fluids containing blood, I should wash with soap and running water, not an alcohol-based hand "spread".

I'd like to hear more about the colonizing with non-toxigenic strains of C. difficile as a way to prevent infection with toxigenic stains. It sounds very promising, so I'll have to do a little investigating.

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» Judy Arbique - C difficile prevention

In response to C difficile prevention posted by arbiquej:

Correction to my previous post....I should have said not ALL viruses are affected by alcohol. I'll provide more information on the effectiveness of alcohol-based hand cleansers in a future article.

Please continue to share your thoughts and comments in the meantime.

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» Rosemary Drisdelle - C difficile prevention

In response to C difficile prevention posted by arbiquej:

Ah! Thanks for that. I was a little alarmed by that comment about alcohol not affecting viruses as I carry a little one in my purse and use it whenever I have to use a public washroom. I also bought a bottle for my son recently when there was an outbreak of Norwalk at his university.

It's important for us to remember, as you already pointed out, that if you know your hands are soiled you should wash first. I'll be watching for that article on alcohol hand wash.

Rosemary Drisdelle
birds.suite101.com

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» Judy Arbique - C difficile prevention

In response to C difficile prevention posted by rdrisdelle:

Stay tuned....I have to do a little research on lipophilic versus nonlipophilic viruses as alcohol hand wash appears to be more effective with lipophilic than nonlipophilic viruses.

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