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When hand antiseptics won't cut it

Hospitalist Leadership Connection, May 16, 2007

They're less drying than soap and water, but hand sanitizers cannot kill three main categories of viruses and bacteria. In these instances, healthcare workers should follow any virus- or bacteria-specific hand washing recommendations. For example, when working with C. difficile patients, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that healthcare workers wash their hands with nonantimicrobial or antimicrobial soap and water, which can physically remove spores from the surface.

The major categories of viruses and bacteria that are not susceptible to alcohol-based hand gels include:

Nonenveloped or nonlipohilic viruses:

·          Norovirus

·          Calicivirus

·          Picornavirus

·          Parvovirus

Bacterial spores:

·          B. anthracis (anthrax)

·          B. cereus (food poisoning)

·          C. botulinum (botulism)

·          C. tetani (tetanus)

·          C. perfringens (gas gangrene)

·          C. difficile

Protozoan oocysts:

·          Amebic dysentery

·          Giardia lamblia

Excerpted from Briefings on Infection Control (BOIC). For more information on BOIC, go to www.hcmarketplace.com/prod-1721.html.

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