Each year nearly 2M people get HAIs and 100K die.
Clostridium difficile Spore Inactivation Study Using Ultraviolet-C Energy
May 2012
OBJECTIVE: To determine inactivation rates for Clostridium difficile spores by irradiating inoculated coupons with ultraviolet-c (UV-C) energy generated and measured by the R-DTM Rapid DisinfectorTM UV-C System (the System) and its remote “challenge devices”.
METHOD: This study was carried out in a controlled laboratory environment setting. Clostridium difficile spores were placed in a laboratory room, in direct line of sight of the UV-C emitter device (the Emitter). This study only used definitive, preselected UV-C dose settings and was not based on treatment time or the distance the coupons were located from the Emitter. The dose delivered was measured by the System's remote UV-C sensor “challenge devices”. Independent tests were performed using six (6) different UV-C doses with three (3) coupons for each dose. After each controlled UV-C dose was delivered to each set of coupons the remaining viable Clostridium difficile spore colony counts were determined to compute the reduction from positive control coupons that were not irradiated.
RESULTS: In this test the effectiveness of UV-C radiation in reducing the spore count of Clostridium difficile ranged between 3.4 - 4.4 log10 after delivering a measured dose ranging from 45,903 to 159,693 µW-sec/cm2.
CONCLUSION: The R-D Rapid Disinfector UV-C System was highly effective in reducing Clostridium difficile spores on contaminated surfaces.
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As shown in the chart below, log10 reduction rates of 3.4 - 4.4 can be achieved with dosages of UV-C light
(measured in micro watt-seconds per centimeter squared, µWs/cm2)