TRATAMENTO DOS RESÍDUOS DE SERVIÇOS DE SAÚDE: EFICÁCIA DA DESINFECÇÃO QUÍMICA DAS CEPAS DE MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS

Abstract

The risk of infection attributed to Healthcare Waste (HCW) has resulted in the compulsory adoption of pre-treatment of biological waste to reduce or eliminate its microbial load. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of the chemical disinfection process using 2% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) in the elimination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains from clinical isolates, compared to the traditional sterilization method (autoclaving). The efficacy of disinfection by NaOCl was evaluated following the inactivation of the agent. The concentration of free chlorine in the disinfectant was 2%, exposure times of 30 minutes to 4 hours between NaClO and the M. tuberculosis colonies were chosen for 65 isolates. The results of the disinfection assays using 2% NaOCl indicated there was effective inactivation of the M. tuberculosis in the clinical isolates from individuals positive for TB bacilli by microscopy (+++), when compared to the efficacy of sterilization by autoclaving..

Index Terms - Healthcare Waste, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, sodium hypochlorite, disinfection, sterilization.