Applicability of Escherichia Coli As an Indicator for Assessing Quality of Disinfectants and Antiseptic During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: The application of disinfectant agents is a common way to fight against micro-organisms. Although there are different types of disinfectant agents to fight COVID-19, many of them do not have the required quality and efficiency. The present work was aimed to evaluate the quality of the available disinfectant agents using gram-negative E. coli bacteria. Materials and Methods: In the laboratory phase of the research, the gram-negative E. coli bacteria were used to evaluate the quality of disinfectants. According to the proposed laboratory method, microbial kit was prepared and used to evaluate the performance of disinfectants. Results: Based on the obtained results, 1.0 mL of microbial suspension in the test tube, as microbial kit, is used for quality assessment of the disinfectants. Also, based on the results and considering the optimum conditions, in case of growth of microorganisms, the quality of disinfectant is evaluated as unfavorable, and in the absence of growth of microorganisms, the quality of disinfectant is considered appropriate in terms of its effect on gram-negative bacteria and weaker microorganisms. Conclusion: Based on the obtained results, E. coli can be used as a reliable indicator for assessing the quality of the disinfectant agents used against COVID 19.