Response to comments on the tolerance to Clostridioides difficile spores to sodium hypochlorite disinfection

Abstract

Dear Editor,

We are pleased that the article we wrote on the in vitro effectiveness of sodium hypochlorite on C. difficile spores has raised important debate [1]. We welcome much needed academic discourse on the topic of biocide tolerance, which we feel, has been overlooked as a research area relevant to reducing spread of infections and antimicrobial resistance [2, 3].

We write this letter not only to respond to comments made; but to also highlight the importance of basic scientific research evidence, as opposed to only clinical research, in understanding the behaviour and characteristics of microorganisms. Clinical research should be used in combination with in vitro fundamental biological research to answer fundamental questions about the biology of infectious microorganisms. Clinicians and laboratory scientists should be working together to tackle healthcare challenges. The research we conducted adds to a body of knowledge that others can build on and comments made about our research have been addressed below.