Desiccation

Mode of Action:

In the absence of water, a condition known as desiccation, microorganisms cannot grow or reproduce but can remain viable for years. Then, when water is made available to them, they can resume their growth and division. This ability is used in the laboratory when microbes are preserved by lyophilization, or freeze-drying. Certain foods are also freeze-dried (for example, coffee and some fruit additives for dry cereals).

Resistance and Desiccation:

The resistance of vegetative cells to desiccation varies with the species and the organism's environment. For example, the gonorrhea bacterium can withstand dryness for only about an hour, but tuberculosis bacterium can remain viable for months. Viruses are generally resistant to desiccation, but they are not as resistant as bacterial endospores, some of which have survived for centuries. This ability of certain dried microbes and endospores to remain viable is important in a hospital setting. Dust, clothing, bedding, and dressing might contain infectious microbes in dried mucus, urine, pus, and feces.