Disinfectant Wipes Decrease Infection Risk Following Preparation of Raw Chicken

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Gerardo U. Lopez, M.A.T, M.Ed., Ph.D.
Research Associate
Soil, Water and Environmental Science
The University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721

Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Dr. Lopez: The background for this study was based on the missing data gaps on fomite-to-finger transfer in the literature that could be used as input parameters for Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessments (QMRA). This research was supported by the Center for Advancing Microbial Risk Assessment, funded by the U.S. Environmental Agency’s Science To Achieve Results (STAR) program and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Two different studies were conducted:

1st “Transfer Efficiency of Bacteria and Viruses from Porous and Nonporous Fomites to Fingers under Different Relative Humidity Conditions”   Appl. Environ. Microbial. 2013, 79(18):5728 and

2nd “Evaluation of a Disinfectant Wipe Intervention on Fomite-to-Finger Microbial Transfer”.

This research was supported by The Clorox Company. Based on the findings of these two studies along with other input parameters drawn from previous studies, we were able to develop a risk assessment that focused on forecasting the exposure to Campylobacter jejuni contaminated surfaces during preparation of chicken fillets and how using a disinfectant wipe intervention to clean a contaminated work area decreases the risk of infection following the preparation of raw chicken fillet in a domestic kitchen. The title of our new publication is “Impact of Disinfectant Wipes on  the Risk of Campylobacter jejuni Infection During Raw Chicken Preparation in Domestic Kitchens” Accepted for publication in Journal of Applied Microbiology.

The main findings were that the annual risk of C. jejuni infections showed a 99% reduction per person per event from 2 out of 10 to 2 out of 1000.

Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Dr. Lopez: Based on our risk assessment from a domestic kitchen scenario clinicians and patients can take away that the risk of nosocomial infections contracted from fomite-to-finger transmission could be reduced using a disinfectant wipe. However, further QMRA’s are needed to better model the various input parameters involved in a healthcare setting.

Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Dr. Lopez: In order to better understand the regional affects of C. jejuni contaminated chicken purchased in retail stores, regional surveillance data should be compared with other contamination rates observed from other areas to help improve this risk assessment. Another recommendation would be to compare various types of disinfectant wipes along with a soap and water comparison in order to better understand the consistent benefits of the most effective method approach. I also still recommend to wash our hands before and after seeing patients as well as before and after preparing raw poultry.

Citation:

Use wipes in the kitchen to reduce risk of food poisoning by 99 percent

Journal of Applied Microbiology May 2015

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gerardo U. Lopez, M.A.T, M.Ed., Ph.D. (2015). Disinfectant Wipes Decrease Infection Risk Following Preparation of Raw Chicken 

Last Updated on May 5, 2015 by Marie Benz MD FAAD