UV-visible marker confirms that environmental persistence of Clostridium difficile spores in toilets of patients with C. difficile-associated diarrhea is associated with lack of compliance with cleaning protocol

Alfa M.J., Dueck C., Olson N., DeGagne P., Papetti S., Wald A., Lo E. and Harding G.

Environmental survival of antibiotic resistant organisms has been suspected to play a role in nosocomial transmission of pathogens. When patients are diagnosed with infections, they are put on isolation precautions and for pathogens such as C. difficile, the housekeeping cleaning protocols are enhanced to reduce the environmental load and potential for cross contamination and as a result the risk of acquiring nosocomial infections. In this study an ultraviolet visible marker (UVM) was used to assess the cleaning compliance of housekeeping staff for toilets in a healthcare setting. The aim of this project was to determine if a UVM could be used to determine the compliance of housekeeping staff with the twice daily cleaning protocols for patients who have been placed on isolation precautions because of CDAD (C. difficile associated diarrhea).

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