NORTH AMERICA
The American Reusable Textile Association (ARTA) has announced that its study on the effectiveness of per acetic acid (PAA) to kill Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) spores is now available for download from the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC).
The ARTA study — “The efficacy of a simulated tunnel washer process on removal and destruction of Clostridioides difficile spores from healthcare textiles” — is now available “In Press,” which means it has been accepted for publication but has not yet been published in hard copy by AJIC.
AJIC is a peer-reviewed scientific journal produced by the Association for Prevention and Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).
ARTA undertook a study several years ago to test the efficacy of PAA in killing C. diff in a simulated tunnel washer (the majority of healthcare textiles in North America are processed in tunnel washers).
The results showed that PAA is effective at killing C.diff spores when used during a laundry process that replicates the mechanical action of a tunnel washer.
"The ability to kill C.diff in healthcare textiles is critical to professional laundries and ARTA has therefore purchased Open Access for this article, which means everyone can easily download and read the study," says ARTA President Brendan O'Neill of London Hospital Linen Service, London, Ontario. O'Neill adds that this is an important study to share with healthcare clients.
AJIC editors say the article will likely be published in the next six months or as soon as October.
This study was funded by ARTA and conducted with assistance from Accuratus Lab. The study authors were Kevin McLaren and Steve Tinker, Gurtler Industries; Ed McCauley, UHS; Brendan O’Neill, London Hospital Textile Service; and Lynne Sehulster, PhD, Environmental Infection Prevention, LLC. Nancy Jenkins, executive director of ARTA, served as project manager for the study.
The ARTA study can be downloaded here
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0196655319304638
