Sporicides for Clostridium difficile: the devil is in the detail

A taskforce has now been formed with representatives from the Department of Health's Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection (ARHAI), the Hospital Infection Society (HIS), the Department of Health (England) and the Health Protection Agency. The aims of the ARHAI/HIS Taskforce on Sporicidal Disinfectants are: to develop an accepted standard for laboratory testing of disinfectants which claim to have activity against C. difficile spores; to develop a network of laboratories with capability to perform in vitro assays of sporicidal activity of disinfectants; and to explore the creation of a national quality assessment scheme for laboratories which perform in vitro assays of sporicidal activity of disinfectants. (C) 2010 The Hospital Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.