FIG 3.

Recovery of unpurified and purified C. difficile spores from spiked clinical surfaces after treatment with 1,000 ppm NaDCC for 10 min. Transfer testing was used to recover U and P spores of C. difficile strains DS1748 (A), R20291 (B), and DS1813 (C) from hospital surgical gowns after contact with spores suspended in NaDCC applied to sterile gown, spiked gown exposed to NaDCC, spiked hospital stainless steel, and hospital vinyl flooring exposed to NaDCC. The inoculum was used as the positive control (water only) and was also suspended in sodium thiosulfate to ensure no cross-reactivity. Plots represent means ± SEMs (n = 3).