Laboratory efficacy of surface disinfection using chlorine against Vibrio cholerae

Laboratory efficacy and effectiveness of under-researched, on-going public health interventions to prevent cholera transmission in humanitarian crises

Abstract

Chlorine disinfection of surfaces in cholera outbreaks is widespread, yet surfaces common to low resource contexts are under-researched leading to contradictory guidance. The purpose of this research is to establish the laboratory efficacy and field effectiveness of under-researched, on-going public health interventions commonly implemented to prevent cholera transmission in humanitarian crises.

In this study, the efficacy of spraying and wiping chlorine on different surfaces to remove Vibrio cholerae was tested. The study found that spraying chlorine, and disinfection of non-porous surfaces, had highest V. cholerae reductions of those tested. Results support the use of 0.2% chlorine on most surfaces and 2.0% on contaminated porous surfaces.

This research was supported by the Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises (R2HC) Programme

Citation

Gabrielle M. String, Eduardo Vargas Gutiérrez, Daniele S. Lantagne; Laboratory efficacy of surface disinfection using chlorine against Vibrio cholerae. J Water Health 1 December 2020; 18 (6): 1009–1019. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wh.2020.199

Laboratory efficacy of surface disinfection using chlorine against Vibrio cholerae

Updates to this page

Published 13 November 2020