Surface Sampling-Based Decontamination Studies and Protocol for Determining Sporicidal Efficacy of Gaseous Fumigants on Military-Relevant Surfaces

摘要

A major consequence of biological terrorism in a military setting is the wide degree of contamination of combat/protective equipment used by war- fighters and first responders. Appropriate selection of a decon technology, successful implementation, and re-use of assets following decontamination rely principally on extensive pre- and post-decontamination sampling. One of the challenges related to the Test & Evaluation demonstration of decon products has been poor recovery of biological contaminants from complex surfaces. Here, we report the optimization of surface sampling for quantifying biological contaminants. An optimized surface sampling protocol was devised and used in decontamination studies for determining sporicidal efficacy of two fumigants on contaminated military-relevant surfaces.