Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

With increasing reports of textiles serving as vectors for the transmission of infections, it is crucial to study the factors influencing such transfers. This is of concern in various sectors, including healthcare and hospitality, where fabrics constitute an integral part. A better understanding of the fabric types that discourage microbial transfer could help to formulate guidelines for uniforms and other apparels in these sectors. This study aimed to assess the transferability of bacteria from fabrics considering the following factors: fibre and fabric type, moisture and friction. The transfer of bacterial genera important in healthcare settings was quantified with and without application of friction: Escherichia coli and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus from seven different fabrics (cotton, silk, viscose, wool, polyester, polypropylene and a polyester-cotton blend). Amongst the fabrics, transferability was observed to be maximal in polyester followed by viscose, while polypropylene showed the least transfer. Transfer of bacteria was favored by moisture and the application of friction. The study brings forth a correlation between fabric type and the transfer of bacterial cells between fabrics.

Keywords

textile bacterial adhesion friction transfer

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Dethlefsen

McFall-Ngai

Relman

. An ecological and evolutionary perspective on human-microbe mutualism and disease. Nature 2007; 449: 811–818.

Ayliffe

GAJ

Buckles

Casewell

, et al. Revised guidelines for the control of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection in hospitals. J Hosp Infect 1998; 39: 253–290.

Teufel

Schuster

Merschak

, et al. Development of a fast and reliable method for the assessment of microbial colonization and growth on textiles by DNA quantification. J Mol Microbiol Biotechnol 2004; 14: 193–200.

Neely

Maley

. Survival of enterococci and staphylococci on hospital fabrics and plastic. J Clin Microbiol 2000; 38: 724–726.

Dural-Erem

Wessman

Husmark

, et al. Biocontrol of solid surfaces in hospitals using microbial-based wipes. Text Res J 2019; 89: 216–222.

Poortinga

Bos

Norde

, et al. Electric double layer interactions in bacterial adhesion to surfaces. Surf Sci Rep 2002; 47: 1–32.

Bajpai

Jha

, et al. Microbial adherence of textile materials: a review. J Environ Res Dev 2011; 5: 666–672.

Callewaert

De Maeseneire

Kerckhof

, et al. Microbial odor profile of polyester and cotton clothes after a fitness session. Appl Environ Microbiol 2014; 80: 6611–6619.

Schmidt-Emrich

Stiefel

Rupper

, et al. Rapid assay to assess bacterial adhesion on textiles. Materials 2014; 9: 249.

10.

Bajpai

Dey

, et al. Study of adherence kinetics of Escherichia coli on cotton knitted fabrics. Ind Chem Eng 2018, pp. 296–308.

11.

Crawford

Webb

Truong

, et al. Surface topographical factors influencing bacterial attachment. Adv Colloid Interface Sci 2012; 179: 142–149.

12.

Dancer

. Mopping up hospital infection. J Hosp Infect 1999; 43: 85–100.

13.

Bellon-Fontaine

Mozes

van der Mei

, et al. A comparison of thermodynamic approaches to predict the adhesion of dairy microorganisms to solid substrata. Cell Biophys 1990; 17: 93–106.

14.

Rijnaarts

HHM

Norde

Bouwer

, et al. Reversibility and mechanism of bacterial adhesion. Colloid Surface B 1995; 4: 5–22.

15.

Sattar

Springthorpe

Mani

, et al. Transfer of bacteria from fabrics to hands and other fabrics: development and application of a quantitative method using Staphylococcus aureus as a model. J Appl Microbiol 2001; 90: 962–970.

16.

Holland

Numata

Rnjak-Kovacina

, et al. The biomedical use of silk: past, present, future. Adv Healthc Mater 2019; 8: e1800465.

17.

Valenza

Nickel

Pfeifer

, et al. Extended-spectrum-β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli as intestinal colonizers in the German community. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2014; 58: 1228–1230.

18.

Korzeniewska

Korzeniewska A and Harnisz

. Antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli in hospital and municipal sewage and their emission to the environment. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 2013; 91: 96–102.

19.

Buxton

Anderson

Werdegar

, et al. Nosocomial respiratory tract infection and colonization with Acinetobacter calcoaceticus: epidemiologic characteristics. Am J Med 1978; 65: 507–513.

20.

Getchell-White

Donowitz

Groschel

. The inanimate environment of an intensive care unit as a potential source of nosocomial bacteria evidence for long survival of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 1989; 10: 402–407.

21.

Little

Hills

. Agricultural experimentation, New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1978.

22.

Allen M. The SAGE encyclopedia of communication research methods. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications Inc., 2017.

23.

Hilbert

Bagge-Ravn

Kold

, et al. Influence of surface roughness of stainless steel on microbial adhesion and corrosion resistance. Int Biodeterior Biodegrad 2003; 52: 175–185.

24.

Lee

Kim

, et al. Surface roughness and the corrosion resistance of 21Cr ferritic stainless steel. Corros Sci 2012; 63: 404–409.

25.

Mather

Wardman

. The chemistry of textile fibres, London: Royal Society of Chemistry Publishing, 2015.

26.

Bakterij

. An overview of the influence of stainless-steel surface properties on bacterial adhesion. Material Technol 2014; 48: 609–617.

27.

Wong KKW, Olsson ALJ, Ashadishad B, et al. Role of cell appendages in initial attachment and stability of E. coli. Langmuir 2017; 33: 4066–4075.

28.

Mbithi

Springthorpe

Boulet

, et al. Survival of hepatitis A virus on human hands and its transfer on contact with animate and inanimate surfaces. J Clin Microbiol 1992; 30: 757–763.

29.

Edwards

NWM

Best

Connell

, et al. Role of surface energy and nano-roughness in the removal efficiency of bacterial contamination by nonwoven wipes from frequently touched surfaces. Sci Technol Adv Mater 2017; 18: 197–209.

Role of fabric properties,moisture and friction in transfer of bacteria from fabric to fabric

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References