Table 1.

Selected bacterial strain survival on inanimate surfaces and their resistance to disinfectants.

Pathogen	Material	Survival on Surfaces	Susceptibility/Resistance to Disinfectants	Physical Inactivation	Ref.
Clostridium difficile	Stainless steel	>6 weeks	Clostridium spores are resistant to ethyl and propyl alcohols; high level disinfectants such as 2% glutaraldehyde, 8% formaldehyde and 20 ppm sodium hypochlorite can kill spores within 20 min	inactivated by moist heat at 121 °C for 15–30 min	[73,74,75]
	Glass	15 min
	Flooring material	5 months
Klebsiella pneumoniae	Plastics surfaces	9–32 days	Gram-negative bacteria are susceptible to disinfectants including phenolic compounds, alcohols (70% ethanol), hypochlorites (1% sodium hypochlorite), glutaraldehyde, iodines (0.075 g/L) and formaldehyde (18.5 g/L; 5% formalin in water).	Reduction in the growth and metabolic activity at temperatures > 35 °C and significant growth reduction at 60 °C;	[76,77,78,79]
	Stainless steel	3–6 weeks
	Ceramics/Flooring material	2 weeks
	fabrics	<1 h–4 weeks
Acinetobacter sp.	Glass	7–20 days	Susceptible to disinfectants such as povidone-iodine, 0.5% chlorhexidine digluconate, 70% ethyl alcohol and didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride in combination with N-(3-aminopropyl)-N-dodecylpropane-1, 3-diamine; glutaraldehyde-based product has a high-level disinfection claim of 5 min at 35 °C.	successfully survived at −20 to 44 °C; inactivated by moist heat at 70 °C for 30 min and dry heat (160–170 °C for 1–2 h)	[80]
	Fabrics	25 days
	Paper	6 days
Escherichia coli	Glass	1–≥14 days	Susceptible to many disinfectants—1% sodium hypochlorite, 70% ethanol, phenolics, glutaraldehyde, iodines, formaldehyde	Heat sensitive, inactivated by moist heat (121 °C for at least 15 min) and dry heat (160–170 °C for at least 1 h) Dielectric-barrier discharges (DBDs) plasma	[77,78,81,82,83,84]
	Steel	14–>60 days
	Fabrics	4 h–>8 weeks
	Plastics surfaces	24 h–>300 days
	Flooring materials	1 h–>8 weeks
Enterobacter sakazakii	stainless steel	1–24 days	Susceptible to 70–80% ethanol, 1% sodium hypochlorite, formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, hydrogen peroxide, iodines, peracetic acid, and quaternary ammonium compounds	Inactivated by pulsed electric fields and high hydrostatic pressure; can persist longer at higher relative humidity and low temperature	[12,85]
Enterobacter cloacae	stainless steel	1–24 days	Susceptible to 70–80% ethanol, 1% sodium hypochlorite, formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, hydrogen peroxide, iodines, peracetic acid, and quaternary ammonium compounds	Can persist longer at higher relative humidity and low temperature; inactivated by moist heat (121 °C for 15 min–30 min) and dry heat (160–170 °C for 1–2 h)	[12,86]
Pseudomonas aeruginosa	fabrics	1 h–>8 weeks	Susceptibility has been shown for 1% sodium hypochlorite, 70% ethanol, 2% glutaraldehyde, and formaldehyde	Inactivation and sterilization by moist heat at 121 °C for 15 min or longer, dry heat at 170–250 °C or higher for 30 min or more; can persist longer at higher relative humidity and low temperature	[77,78,82,87,88]
	Plastics surfaces	9 h–10 days
	Flooring materials	1 h–>8 weeks
	Stainless steel	5 days
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)	Glass	15–25 days	Susceptible to 70% ethanol, clorhexidine, 1% sodium hypochlorite, 2% glutaraldehyde, 0.25% benzalkonium chloride, and formaldehyde	Can persist longer at low humidity; can be inactivated by dry heat (160–170 °C for 1 h) but not to moist heat treatment	[77,78,82,89,90]
	fabrics	1–>70 days
	Plastics surfaces	21 days–>3 years
	Flooring materials	>4 h–8 weeks
	Stainless steel	6 h–>6 weeks
	polyethylene	90–1097 days
Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA)	fabrics	1–2 weeks	Susceptible to 70% ethanol, clorhexidine, 1% sodium hypochlorite, 2% glutaraldehyde, 0.25% benzalkonium chloride, and formaldehyde	Can persist longer at low humidity, grow in a pH of 4.2 to 9.3 and in salt concentrations of up to 15%; can be inactivated by dry heat (160–170 °C for 1 h) but not to moist heat treatment	[91,92]
	polyethylene	>90 days
	countertop	2-month
Enterococcus sp.	fabrics	5 to 7 days	Susceptible to 70% isopropyl alcohol, 70% ethanol, 5.25% sodium hypochlorite, phenolic and quaternary ammonia compounds, and glutaraldehyde. Resistant to 3% hydrogen peroxide	Enterococci are killed by temperatures in excess of 80 °C	[91,93]
	Plastics surfaces	1 day
	polyethylene	5 days–2 months