FOMITES

AND
DISEASE
TRANSMISSIO
N

NINE ROUTES OF INFECTION

1. Respiratory droplets: cough sneeze, air born
droplets
2. Fomites. Inanimate objects that spread
disease agents
3. Direct body contact
4. Fecal Oral
5. Arthropod Vectors
6. Airborne
7. Parenteral, Direct transmission via blood
8. Deep Wound trauma

DEFINITIONS
Fomites are inanimate objects capable of
transferring disease agents through either
direct contact or oral transmission.
Fomites can include:
boots, clothing, vehicles, shovels, tools,
bowls or buckets, tack, brushes, clippers,
needles, and other medical equipment.
Vehicles and trailers with contaminated
tires, wheel wells, and undercarriages can
serve as fomites.

 80% of all pathogens in the hospital

and home environment are spread
through hand contact

MOST DISEASES SPREAD

THROUGH HAND CONTACT
Every three minutes, a child brings his/ her
hand to nose or mouth
Every 60 seconds, a working adult touches
as many as 30 objects

WHY STUDY FOMITES?

Fomites are believed to play significant
role in transmission of respiratory and
enteric viruses
Fomites play a role in the crosscontamination of foodborne pathogens in
the food service industry and in the home
Fomites may allow for the amplification
of bacteria and fungi (e.g. Sponge/
dishcloths)

WHY STUDY FOMITES?

Allow us to identify areas where greatest
risk of transmission an occur
Identify areas for the development of
targeted products for the consumer/food
and health care industry
Allow application of Quantitative
Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) to
determine risks of infection and success
of interventions in reduction of risk

DETECTION OF PATHOGENS
ON FOMITES
Hard surfaces
Phones, tap handles, desk tops, door
knobs, cutting boards, table tops
E. coli, influenza, parainfluenza,
norovirus
Clothing
Laundry, towels, bed sheets
Salmonella, hepatitis A virus, norovirus,
E. coli

DETECTION OF PATHOGENS
ON FOMITES
Bathroom
Sinks, taps, bottom of the toilet seat
Norovirus, Giardia, Cryptosporidium,
Shigella
Kitchen
Sponge, sink, cutting board
Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. coli
Schools
Norovirus, rhinovirus, Salmonella,

SITES BY COLIFORM BACTERIAL

DENSITIES IN THE HOME

Spong Kitchen
e
Sink

Bath Cutting Kitchen Bath Bath

Toilet
Floor
Counter
Sink Board
Floor
Seat

 Hand contact plays a significant role

in transmission of common infections
Fomite contamination by pathogens
is a common event in home and work
environments
Washing fomite with soap and water
is not enough to prevent the spread
of pathogens

BIOSECURITY AND
OTHER FOMITES

IMPORTANCE OF
BIOSECURITY
Reduce risk of disease spread
During movement of personnel,
equipment, and materials
During routine animal care
During animal emergency
response activities
Protect responders
health if agent is
zoonotic

VEHICLES
Park vehicles away from animal
areas and runoff.
Avoid driving in manure or
wastewater
Clean vehicles between visits to
production facilities
Follow cleaning and disinfection
protocols

VEHICLES
Designate clean and dirty areas
in vehicle
Properly contain any
contaminated clothing,
equipment or supplies
Follow protocols for
later disposal or
decontamination

C&D
CLEANING/DISINFECTION
Two-step process:
Cleaning
Disinfection
Items to clean and disinfect include:
Vehicles
Tools and equipment
Reusable clothing, reusable PPE
Hands

C&D VEHICLES
Clean between visits to production
facilities, include tires and floor mats
Use commercial car
washes with wheel-well washing
May need a tire spray

C&D EQUIPMENT AND HANDS

Equipment:
Select easily cleanable equipment
Use disposable equipment when possible
Clean and disinfect before leaving
premises, if at all possible
Hands:
Wash with antibacterial soap
Wash hands even if gloves are worn

PREVENT CONTAMINATION
Avoid walking through contaminated
areas
Avoid direct contact with contaminated
items
Protect injured skin
Stay upwind of airborne contaminants
Do not carry personal items into
contaminated areas

PREVENT CONTAMINATION
For equipment:
Limit time vehicles and equipment are
in contaminated area
When taking samples:
Set contaminated samples and tools in
clean bag before placing on clean
surface
Bag sample containers before removing
from site

OVERALL SUMMARY
Targeted hygiene is needed for home and work
environment infection control
Cleaning and disinfection protocols to prevent
contamination
The benefit is prophylactic but real
Topical antiseptic wash products do not contribute
to decreased antimicrobial susceptibility
The 1994 TFM log reductions after a single wash
(i.e., 2 log10 ) are appropriate, as long as
standardized ASTM methods are employed

SOURCES
Charles P. Gerba, Department of Soil, Water and
Environmental Science And Epidemiology and
Biostatistics, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
FAD PReP/NAHEMS Guidelines & SOP: Biosecurity
(2013)
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/emergency_ma
nagement/

Biosecurity web-based training module

http://naherc.sws.iastate.edu/