Fogging With Peracetic Acid
Dry-Fogging Proven Effective in Treating Mold and Bacteria
Keeping Schools Safe through Non-Toxic Disinfection
Date Published: September 17th 2021
Name of Study:
Fogging with Peracetic Acid in Schools and Kindergartens
Link to Study:
https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:018e51d7-cd5d-4efe-af39-5ed4ad85b1fb
Summary:
Peracetic acid is an excellent bactericide and fungicide, used mostly in the environment of the hospital. Fogging was proven to be a good method in the removal of contamination in hospitals and healthcare-related places. Alietal. established that the use of air-borne H2O2 gives excellent results in surgical wards, single isolation rooms, and bathrooms(9).Another study proved that decontamination by dry fogging with H2O2 in dental surgery has a high potential as H2O2 fogging resulted in a significant decrease in the number of bacterial and fungal colonies present in the se settings (10). Moreover, fogging demonstrated good compatibility with electronic sensors and facilities used in laboratories, therefore, there is no risk of damaging the equipment (11,12).Recent studies showed that fogging is also very effective in the removal of SARS-CoV-2 from various surfaces.In their study, Cuttsetal .demonstrate that dry fogging withPAAcompletelyinactivatedSARS-CoV-2ontestsurfaces. They also suggested that with the ease of use low cost, and overall effectiveness of a PAA, dryfogging should also be considered for decontaminationinthepreventionofCOVID-19(13).Another study demonstrated the effectiveness of PAA for disinfection of Geobacillus stearothermophilus (G.stearothermophilus) spores and bacteriophage MS2 on N95 respirators, proposing a PAA room disinfection system as a solution for decontamination of a great number of N95 respirators during the outbreak of COVID19(14). Peroxyacetic acid has been shown to be effective against foodborne pathogens on different produce surfaces (15, 16). Van deVeldeetal .demonstrated the usefulness of PAA and H2O2 mixture for preserving the quality of strawberries by reducing the native microbial load on their surface(17).Another study assessed the effect of the disinfectant fogging procedure on the air quality in the farrowing-weaning room of a piggery. It was proven that fogging improved the quality of the air by reducing ammonia and dust concentration and the number of fungal spores. Therefore, the procedure resulted in the enhancement of the health of both the workers and animals(18) .Our study adds new information to this topic, as we proved the effectiveness of fogging with PAA in schools and kindergartens–places where many children gather and spend the whole day performing various activities, such as eating, sleeping, playing. Fogging disinfection may be safely used in kindergartens or environment of nurseries as the residues of the fog disappear in few hours, therefore, fogging may be performed during the absence of the children in kindergarten (nights,weekends), as the environment is completely safe the next day. Although most of the bacteria cultured from kindergartens were saprophytes, some of them might pose a threat to health of the children, especially to those immunocompromised. Thus, decontamination should regularly be performed to prevent the spreading of pathogens. In addition to bacteria, fungi such as Aspergillus niger (A. niger)and Aspergillusflavus (A.flavus) were cultured. According to the European standard PN-EN13624,PAAcanbeclassified as a fungicidal agent as it destroys the difficult-to-destroy spores of the fungus A. niger (now Aspergillus brasiliensis). In our study, A. niger spores were detected on the tables and walls of kindergartens and tables in schools. The effectiveness of PAA fogging was 100% in all the cases. As a final discussion, we can emphasize that dry fog fumigation using PAA is a portable and simple decontamination technology for public spaces inhabited for large amount of time by known carriers of potentially harmful bacteria and fungi. For the study, kindergartens and schools were chosen since the public considers these places unique as children are largely either exposed or not to the pathogens in such environments. In conclusion, our study proves that decontamination by using this method is effective not only in the healthcare centers but also in the educational institutions. In times of theCOVID19pandemic, effective, nontoxic, and regular disinfection of large places is important to ensure the safety of children and adolescents.
-Published in Frontiers in Public Health, Volume 9, September 2021