Dermal Microbial Risk Assessment: Impact of Germicidal Soap on Risk of Infection from Staphylococcus. C. N. Haas, Drexel University, School of Environmental Science, Engineering & Policy; and J. B. Rose, University of South Florida, Department of Marine Science
Antibacterial soaps may have an important role in the control of skin infection. However, quantitative estimation of their benefit is difficult due to the problems associated with conducting epidemiological studies. An alternative benefit estimation approach, quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA), has application to this problem.
This paper sets forth the QMRA method and applies it specifically to the estimation of the reduction in risk of dermal infection from Staphylococcus aureus resulting from use of antibacterial soaps. Using available information on growth kinetics of the organism on the skin and data from dose-infection studies, a dose-response model using area-under-the-curve (AUC) as a dose metric was formulated. A predictive relationship for microbial growth on the skin was also developed.
Using these relationships, it was estimated that the use of germicidal soap could result in a substantial reduction in the risk of infection by S. aureus. The estimated risk reduction was in general concordance with published results from epidemiological studies conducted on military cadets.
The methodology of QMRA has thus been shown to be applicable to this problem, and may have broader applicability in other personal hygiene contexts, including those involving dermal exposure.
This work was supported by funds from the Procter & Gamble Co.
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