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Deaths from MRSA
Nearly 19,000 Americans died in 2005 of invasive infections caused by drug-resistant staphylococcus bacteria - more than were killed by AIDS.
Journal of the American Medical Association
By CIRI Staff
Yes, they are, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina Health Care System and University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC.
According to the authors of a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control, microfiber mops removed or inactivated far more microbes than cotton string mops (95% versus 68%) when used with standard detergent. Testing those same mops with a disinfectant did not improve results with microfiber (it still removed or inactivated 95% of germs) but significantly improved results with the cotton mop (microbe removal or inactivation went from 68% to 95%).
Researchers Rutala, Gergen, and Weber conducted tests in 24 rooms, and RODAC plates were used to determine before and after microbe levels.
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Comment by Allen Rathey on November 5th, 2009 at 12:15pm
From: Rutala, Bill (Epidemiology)
Sent: Thursday, November 05, 2009 9:35 AM
To: Allen Rathey
Subject: RE: Question from the Cleaning Industry Research Institute (CIRI) re: Your Study
It was "inactivation" with disinfectant added not "removal". Bill Rutala
Comment by Allen Rathey on November 4th, 2009 at 7:06pm
Mr. Smith,
Thanks for your query. I have put the question to Dr. Rutala, and await a response.
Allen Rathey
Comment by Charlie Smith on November 4th, 2009 at 7:02pm
Curious. Why did adding a disinfectant to the cotton string mop improve its "removal" percentage? Removal is a mechanical action. Does disinfectant make the string mop "stickier", but not so with the microfiber mop?