Survival of microbes on surfaces and textiles.

Written By Dr. Anestis Iossifidis

The most common microbes may well survive on surfaces for months and can be a continuous source of transmission. Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), resistant Enterococcus sp. (VRE), spore-forming Clostridium difficile (C dif.) and highly infectious Norovirus, and Salmonella are shed by infected patients and repeatedly contaminate the surrounding environment. Most bacteria including TB and fungal microbes (Candida) can persist for up to 4 months on dry surfaces. Gastrointestinal viruses persist for approximately 2 months, respiratory tract viruses (corona viruses, influenza, SARS, rhinovirus) for days, and others such as Norovirus, Hepatitis and HIV can persist for more than a week. [1-4]

Microbes can survive on textiles for days to weeks.

Bacteria such as Staph. Aureus and MRSA, survive on cotton for 21 days and on polyester for up to 7 days. Coliforms survive for 120 days on cotton and blended textile. [1]

Fungal pathogens (Candida spp., Aspergillus spp.) survive >30 days on cotton, terry, blended textile, polyester and spandex.[2]

Viruses:    Human coronaviruses: (HCoV-OC43) remains infectious on polyester for ≥72 h, cotton for ≥24 h, and polycotton for ≥6 h; and are able to transfer from polyester to PVC or polyester after 72 h.  [1]

(SARS-CoV-2)   remains infectious for up to 24h on cotton. Viable virus was recovered after 21 days on plastic and inoculated N-95 (Mask 1) and N-100 (Mask 2) surface materials, 14 days on stainless steel, 7 days on nitrile gloves and 4 days on chemical resistant gloves. [3]

Noroviruses, highly infectious and the primary cause of viral gastroenteritis worldwide, can retain infectivity for more than 2 weeks following contact with a range of surface materials, including Teflon, PVC, ceramic tiles, glass, silicone rubber, and stainless steel. [4]

  1. Owen L, Shivkumar M, Laird K. 2021. The stability of model human coronaviruses on textiles in the environment and during health care laundering. mSphere 6:e00316-21 Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33910996/

  2. Neely AN, Orloff MM. 2001. Survival of some medically important fungi on hospital fabrics and plastics. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 39(9):3360_3361 Link:  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11526178/

  3. Kasloff S, Leung A, Strong J, Funk D, Cutts T. 2021. Stability of SARS-CoV-2 on critical personal protective equipment. Sci Rep 11:984.  Link:  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33441775/

  4. Warnes, S. L., & Keevil, C. W. (2013). Inactivation of norovirus on dry copper alloy surfaces. PloS One, 8, e75017. Link:  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24040380/

Dr. Anestis Iossifidis
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