Disinfection and Sterilization

The concepts of sterilization and disinfection are of great importance to veterinarians. As many infectious agents can be transmitted on inanimate objects that require disinfection, and sterility is required for many surgical procedures, an understanding of the principles of sterilization, disinfection, and antisepsis is necessary. Chemical agents act more selectively on microorganisms than do the physical methods such as heat and radiation. The chapter discusses antiseptics and disinfectants that are used by veterinarians and microbiology laboratorians. Disinfectants are chemical compounds capable of killing most microbial forms. The use of disinfectants is typically recommended to reduce environmentally mediated transmission, or laboratory-associated infections. The efficacy of disinfection is affected by several factors. These include the forms of organisms present (i.e. vegetative cells vs. spores) and the concentration of organisms.