Open AccessThe differential susceptibility of spores from virulent and attenuated B acillus anthracis strains to aldehyde‐ and hypochlorite‐based disinfectants
Author(s) -
March Jordon K.,
Cohen Marissa N.,
Lindsey James M.,
Millar D. A.,
Lowe ChinnWoan,
Bunnell Annette J.,
O'Neill Kim L.,
Bruce Schaalje G.,
Robison Richard A.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
microbiologyopen
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.881
H-Index - 36
ISSN - 2045-8827
DOI - 10.1002/mbo3.45
Subject(s) - disinfectant , virulence , bacillus anthracis , spore , microbiology and biotechnology , hypochlorite , sodium hypochlorite , strain (injury) , log reduction , chemistry , biology , bacteria , biochemistry , organic chemistry , gene , genetics , anatomy
This study compared the sensitivity of spores from virulent and attenuated B acillus anthracis strains in suspension to inactivation by various chemical disinfectants. Spore suspensions from two virulent strains (A0256 and A0372) and two attenuated strains (Sterne and A0141) of B . anthracis were tested against two aldehyde‐based disinfectants and one hypochlorite‐based disinfectant. A novel statistical model was used to estimate 4‐log 10 reduction times for each disinfectant/strain combination. Reduction times were compared statistically using approximate Z and χ 2 tests. Although there was no consistent correlation between virulence and increased sporicidal resistance across all three disinfectants, spores from the two virulent and two attenuated strains did display significantly different susceptibilities to different disinfectants. Significant disinfectant–strain interactions were observed for two of the three disinfectants evaluated. The comparative results suggest that the use of surrogate organisms to model the inactivation kinetics of virulent B . anthracis spores may be misleading. The accuracy of such extrapolations is disinfectant dependent and must be used with caution.