Disinfection standards describe the act of destroying or killing bacteria and a broad spectrum of viruses on non-porous surfaces; this represents which level of infection control?

• A. Primary level of infection control
• B. Secondary level of infection control
• C. Tertiary level of infection control
• D. Quaternary level of infection control

Answer: (B)

Disinfection is the level being described. It sits between basic cleaning/sanitizing and full sterilization: it aims to destroy or inactivate bacteria and a broad spectrum of viruses on surfaces, especially non-porous ones, after cleaning. It's more thorough than sanitizing, which reduces microbial numbers to safe levels, but it does not kill every microorganism or spores like sterilization would. That mid-level effectiveness is why this scenario is categorized as the secondary level of infection control. Non-porous surfaces respond well to disinfection, while porous materials may not be as reliably disinfected, underscoring why disinfection is the appropriate level here rather than sterilization.