Survival of Escherichia coli, Pseudomona aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus on Wood and Plastic Surfaces

Abstract

The survival of (Escherichia coli, Pseudomona aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus was tested on natural beech wood, varnished beech wood, and plastic at 5 times:immediately after surface contamination and drying; 24 and 48 hours after contamination; 24 hours after contamination the samples were cleaned with non-germicidal detergent cleaner (Triton X-100 at a 1:30 dilution with distilled water) and surface bacteria were sampled a further 24 hours after cleaning. Initial E. coli and P. aeruginosa counts were highest for plastic, followed by varnished beechwood, and lowest for the natural beech wood. On each surface these bacteria died off almost completely within 24 hours. Initial S. aureus counts were highest for plastic, followed by varnished beech wood, and lowest for the natural beech wood. For all surfaces, there was an initial reduction from drying, but after 24 hours the counts plateaued, suggesting that bacteria could have survived on the surfaces for quite some time. At 24 hours the counts were comparable on all 3 surfaces. However, 48 hours after surface washing S. aureus could not be detected on the untreated beech wood, but this was still detectable on the varnished beech wood and plastic. Implications are discussed.