The assessment of the bactericidal activity of surface disinfectants. III. Practical tests for surface disinfection.

The results of both previous articles on the comparison of practical tests for surface disinfection are summarized. They are the DGHM test of the German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology, the AFNOR test NF-T 72-190 of the French Association for Standardization, the quantitative carrier test (QCT) of Van Klingeren, the Leuven test and the quantitative surface disinfection test (QSDT). The comparison of the techniques followed in these tests seems to indicate that the differences in the operating technique are likely to influence the test results. There is, however, a close correlation among the results of all but the AFNOR test, although there remains a statistically significant difference in the reduction factors: the Leuven test and the QCT are the more severe tests, whereas the AFNOR and DGHM tests are the less severe ones. The QSDT gives divergent results, which could be attributed to the influence on the resuscitation of the surviving bacteria.