Ineffectiveness of a quaternary ammonium salt and povidone-iodine for the inactivation of Ascaris suum eggs.

Two commonly used disinfectants, a quaternary ammonium salt and povidone-iodine, were tested for effectiveness against unembryonated Ascaris suum eggs. The quaternary ammonium salt (alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride) had no effect on the Ascaris eggs (10 minutes and 22°C) when compared with the controls in water with egg viabilities of 88.8% ± 3.3% and 86.9% ± 6.2%, respectively. An additional quaternary ammonium salt, 2.5% benzethonium chloride, also had no effect. Phenol (5%) and cresol (3%) completely inactivated the eggs. Povidone-iodine at 100%, 50%, 10%, and 1% had no effect on the eggs at exposures of 5, 15, 30, 60, or 120 minutes (22°C) compared with the water controls.