New and emerging infectious diseases (Ebola, Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome coronavirus, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, Candida auris): Focus on environmental survival and germicide susceptibility

In the recent past, we have witnessed the emergence of many new infectious diseases, some of which are major public health threats. The public health threats posed by emerging diseases have been well described in 2 reports from the Institute of Medicine, 1 in 1992 and 1 in 2001.1,2 Since the outbreak of Legionella in 19763,4 and AIDS in 19815,6 later demonstrated to be due to HIV in 1983,7 many emerging infectious diseases have had important infection control implications. This review will focus on several of the most important current infection prevention threats including Ebola virus, Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus (CoV), carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), and Candida auris with a focus on mechanisms of transmission, environmental contamination and stability, and germicide susceptibility. Germicides that will be discussed include chemical sterilants used to process critical equipment and devices (eg, surgical instruments, implants), high-level disinfectants that are used to disinfect semicritical equipment and devices (ie, medical equipment or devices that come into contact with nonintact skin or mucous membranes), low-level disinfectants used for disinfection of surfaces or shared equipment that come into contact with intact skin (eg, blood pressure cuffs, room surfaces), and antiseptics (ie, germicides used on skin or mucous membranes to reduce the microbial flora).8,9 This review updates a previous article that reviewed Ebola and MERS and also reviews CRE and C auris