A loophole in soap dispensers mediates contamination with Gram ‐negative bacteria

Liquid soap dispensers are widely used in domestic and clinical settings. In previous studies, the risk of bacterial contamination of refillable systems was pointed out and a bacterial contamination rate of 25%, with values of up to 108 colony-forming units/mL was reported. We contaminated different dispensing systems withPseudomonas aeruginosa /Pluralibacter gergoviae biofilm, to reveal the route of contamination and identified the pressure release of standard pump dispensers as the loophole for microbial contamination. AbstractLiquid soap dispensers are widely used in domestic and clinical settings. In previous studies, the risk of bacterial contamination of refillable systems was pointed out and a bacterial contamination rate of 25%, with values of up to 108 colony-forming units/mL (CFU/mL), was reported. However, the route of contamination remains elusive. To address this point, we determined the microbial contamination of refillable standard pump dispensers and nonrefillable press-dispenser systems. Following the collection of 104 liquid soap dispe nsers from hotel rooms across Germany, bacterial counts were determined. Isolates of samples containing nonfastidious Gram-negative(lac −) bacteria were further analyzed by the Vitek 2 system for the determination of species. 70.2% of the refillable pump dispensers (mean total bacterial count  = 2.2 × 105 CFU/mL) but only 10.6% of the nonrefillable press dispensers, were contaminated (mean total bacterial coun...
Source: MicrobiologyOpen - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research