Japanese Society for Infection Prevention and Control-Online Journal

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Comparative Analysis of the Bacillus cereus Count and Washing Methods of Wipe Towels: A Multicenter Study

Yasuka HOSOKAWA¹⁾, Satoru MITSUBOSHI²⁾, Hiroki HOSOKAWA³⁾, Miho ISHII¹⁾, Naoki TSURUMA⁴⁾, Koji MUTO⁵⁾, Junko TAKASAWA⁶⁾, Koji OKUBO⁷⁾, Masahiro FUKUHARA⁸⁾ and Masami TSUGITA⁹⁾
¹⁾Department of Pharmacy, Niitsu Medical Center Hospital, ²⁾Department of Pharmacy, Kaetsu Hospital, ³⁾Department of Pharmacy, Agano City Hospital, ⁴⁾Department of Pharmacy, Sado General Hospital, ⁵⁾Department of Pharmacy, Chimeido Hospital, ⁶⁾Department of Pharmacy, Niigata Cancer Center Hospital, ⁷⁾Headquarters, Echigo Medical Incorporation, ⁸⁾Laboratory of Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Niigata University of Pharmacy and Applied Life Sciences, ⁹⁾Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Niigata University of Pharmacy and Applied Life Science

This study aims to investigate the contamination of wipe towels by Bacillus cereus and the washing methods followed by multiple facilities to determine whether different washing methods affect the B. cereus contamination of reusable cloth wipe towels. In addition, this study assesses the correlation between the B. cereus contamination of wipe towels and blood culture results. Subject facilities included six hospitals in the Niigata Prefecture. We collected three dry wipe towels from each hospital per month to assess the B. cereus bacterial concentration. Moreover, we surveyed the washing and storage methods of wipe towels and the number of B. cereus-positive cases from the blood culture results. The bacterial concentration in each facility was in the range of 0-1142 CFU/mL, and we observed a positive correlation (R=0.72, P=0.11) between the average bacterial concentrations and the rates of positive-blood culture results. With respect to the washing methods, the bacterial concentration tended to be lower when a batch method was followed compared with when a continuous method was followed. The B. cereus concentration was significantly lower when the washing process involved soaking in sodium hypochlorite (P<0.01). Thus, the B. cereus contamination of wipe towels was affected by a difference in washing methods, and it may affect the rates of positive-blood culture results. This study suggests that in a facility with a large number B. cereus-positive cases, the number could be decreased by confirming and changing the washing method, which may decrease the bloodstream infection by B. cereus.

Key words：Bacillus cereus, wipe towel, blood culture, washing method, sodium hypochlorite

e-mail: yakuzai＠niitsu-kenshinkai.com

Received: June 2, 2017
Accepted: May 30, 2018

33 (5)：220─224,2018