Sporicide (EN 13704)
A sporicide is a product that inactivates bacterial spores, the most resistant form of some bacteria. Its activity is demonstrated with the EN 13704 standard.
Some bacteria, especially of the genera Bacillus and Clostridium (including Clostridioides difficile), form endospores when conditions are unfavourable. The spore has a coat of very low permeability and hardly any water inside, which makes it resistant to heat, desiccation and most disinfectants. When it finds favourable conditions again, it germinates and the bacterium multiplies once more. That is why a bactericidal product is not necessarily sporicidal: quaternary ammonium salts and alcohols, for example, do not inactivate spores.
EN 13704 is a quantitative suspension test for disinfectants used in food, industrial, domestic and institutional areas, with Bacillus subtilis spores as the reference organism and the option of adding others. For the medical area there is a specific standard, EN 17126. In general, substances with recognised sporicidal activity are strong oxidants or aldehydes at higher concentrations and longer contact times than those needed for vegetative bacteria; the specific activity of a product can only be claimed if its data sheet declares the test.
In practice, spores are a problem where the aim is to prevent them from surviving a later process (for example, in the food industry) or in the control of C. difficile in healthcare facilities. Prior cleaning is especially important: mechanically removing the soil eliminates a large proportion of the spores that a non-sporicidal disinfectant would not inactivate. Before using a disinfectant for this purpose, check that the technical data sheet declares EN 13704 (or EN 17126) and respect the dose and contact time tested.
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