In vitro evaluation of a novel process for reducing bacterial contamination of environmental surfaces

Background: Disinfection of contaminated surfaces is an integral and challenging aspect of infection prevention. We evaluated the ability of Goldshield 5 (GS; NBS Technology, Laurelton, NY), an antimicrobial surfactant that coats surfaces with covalently bound octadecyldimethylammonium ions, to reduce the bacterial burden on contaminated surfaces. Methods: We tested the GS product for inhibitory activity against patient isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA), and Escherichia coli (EC) on fabric according to the garment industry standard American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists 100 protocol. We also tested the product for activity against these same isolates in carrier tests with a modified Association of Official Analytical Chemists use-dilution method. Results: On fabric, viability of bacterial isolates was inhibited for 14 days. GS also reduced recovery of viable MRSA, PA, and EC from Formica and stainless steel carriers treated with the product. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that GS has inhibitory activity and potential utility as part of an infection control process

Data from: Host and parasite thermal acclimation responses depend on the stage of infection

1. Global climate change is expected to alter patterns of temperature variability, which could influence species interactions including parasitism. Species interactions can be difficult to predict in variable-temperature environments because of thermal acclimation responses, i.e. physiological changes that allow organisms to adjust to a new temperature following a temperature shift. 2. The goal of this study was to determine how thermal acclimation influences host resistance to infection and to test for parasite acclimation responses, which might differ from host responses in important ways. 3. We tested predictions of three, non-mutually exclusive hypotheses regarding thermal acclimation effects on infection of green frog tadpoles (Lithobates clamitans) by the trematode parasite Ribeiroia ondatrae with fully replicated controlled-temperature experiments. Trematodes or tadpoles were independently acclimated to a range of ‘acclimation temperatures’ prior to shifting them to new ‘performance temperatures’ for experimental infections. 4. Trematodes that were acclimated to intermediate temperatures (19–22 °C) had greater encystment success across temperatures than either cold- or warm-acclimated trematodes. However, host acclimation responses varied depending on the stage of infection (encystment vs. clearance): warm- (22–28 °C) and cold-acclimated (13–19 °C) tadpoles had fewer parasites encyst at warm and cold performance temperatures, respectively, whereas intermediate-acclimated tadpoles (19–25 °C) cleared the greatest proportion of parasites in the week following exposure. 5. These results suggest that tadpoles use different immune mechanisms to resist different stages of trematode infection, and that each set of mechanisms has unique responses to temperature variability. Our results highlight the importance of considering thermal responses of both parasites and hosts when predicting disease patterns in variable-temperature environments

Altman et al. 2016 JAE tadpole acclimation data

Data from the tadpole acclimation experimen

Altman et al. 2016 JAE trematode acclimation data

Data from the trematode acclimation experimen