The Principles of Medical Device Decontamination

Microorganism types Examples

More resistant to Inactivation

Prions

Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD), Scrapie

Dormant Microorganisms Bacterial spores

Geobacillus stearothermophilus, Clostridioides difficile, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Ascaris, Schistsoma

Protozoal Oocysts / cysts Helminth eggs

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, M. avium, M. Chimaera Poliovirus, papillomavirus, Parvovirus, Rhinoviruses

Mycobacteria

Small, Non-enveloped viruses

Dormant Fungi (Spores

Aspergillus and Penicillium spores

Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Ascaris, Schistosoma

Vegetative Helminths Vegetative Protozoa

Vegetative Fungi Moulds Yeast

Aspergillus, Penicillium Candida

Pseudomonas, Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter

Gram Negative bacteria

Large Non-Enveloped Viruses

Adenovirus

Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Influenza virus, Hepatitis B virus (HBV)

Gram Positive Bacteria

Less Resistant to Inactivation

Enveloped Viruses

Table 1.2 illustrates the relative difficulty in stopping replication of these groups of infectious moieties that the decontamination scientist is seeking to remove (used with kind permission of Gerald McDonnell)

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