Spore Contamination on Textiles: How Much is Too Much?

Dr. Lynne Sehulster retired from a 20-year career with the CDC in Atlanta. She was instrumental in helping the Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC) create their 2011-2012 standards and has been helping the laundry community by answering questions concerning microbiology and epidemiology. Dr. Sehulster is a regular contributor to ALM publications and will be speaking at ALM's Clean Show education session, Preventing Microbial Growth and Infection in Laundry Facilities.

Show notes:

The Chain of Infection most often includes: Organism, Reservoir, Portal of Exit, Mode of Transmission, Portal of Entry, and Susceptible Host. Dr. Sehulster makes the distinction of the Infectious Dose, because, in the case of linen, there will always be organisms present, unless it is a sterilized textile. Given that, for linen to be a danger to susceptible persons, there must be enough of that organism to present a link in the chain.

 

ALM Reminders

• Education sessions for The 2019 Clean Show are now available. Don't forget, current ALM members receive discounted admission to The Clean Show.