DEAS 384 : 2021  
ICS 71 .100  
© EAC 20 21                                                                                                               Second  Edition  2021   
 
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
 
 
 
 
Disinfectants and antiseptics - Glossary  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  
 
 DEAS 384: 2021  
ii © EAC 20 21 – All rights reserved  
 Copyright notice  
This EAC document is copyright -protected by EAC. While the reproduction of this document by 
participants in the EAC standards development process is permitted without prior permission from EAC, 
neither this document nor any extract from it may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form for 
any other purpose without prior written permission from EAC.  
Requests for permission to reproduce this document for the purpose of selling it should be addressed as 
shown below or to EAC’s member body in the country of the requester:  
© East African Community  2021  — All rights reserved  
East African Community   
P. O. Box 1096  
Arusha  
Tanzania  
Tel: 255 27 2504253/8  
Fax: 255 27 2504481/2504255  
E-mail: eac@eachq.org  
       Web: www.eac -quality.net  
Reproduction for sales purposes may be subject to royalty payments or a licensing  agreement.  Violators 
may be p rosecuted . DEAS 384: 2021  
iii 
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitated by the need for harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products and services in the East African Community. It is envisaged that through harmonized 
standardization, trade barriers that are encountered when goods and services are exchanged within the Community 
will be removed.  
The Community has established an East African Standards Committee (EASC) mandated to develop and issue 
East African Standards (EAS) and other deliverables. The Com mittee is composed of representatives of the 
National Standards Bodies in Partner States, together with the representatives from the public and private sector 
organizations in the community.  
East African Standards are developed through Technical Committee s that are representative of key 
stakeholders including government, academia, consumer groups, private sector and other interested parties. 
Draft East African Standards are circulated to stakeholders through the National Standards Bodies in the Partner 
States. The comments received are discussed and incorporated before finalization of standards, i n accordance 
with the p rinciples and procedures for development of East African Standards.  
East African Standards and other deliverables are subject to review, to  keep pace with technological advances. 
Users of the East African Standards are therefore expected to ensure that they always have the latest versions 
of the standards they are implementing.  
The committee responsible for this document is  Technical Committ ee EASC/TC 069 , Organic and Inorganic 
chemicals.  
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be subject of patent rights. 
EAC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.  
This second  editio n cancels and rep laces the  first edition (EAS 384:2005 ), which has been technically revised.  
 
 
 DEAS 384:2021    
 
© EAC 20 21 – All rights reserved  
  
 Disinfectants  and antiseptics  — Glossary  
1 Scope  
This Working  Draft  East African Stand ard defines the terms used in the disinfectant  and antiseptic  industry.  
2 Normative references  
There are no normative references in this document.  
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply. ISO and IEC maintain 
terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:  — ISO Online browsing 
platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp  
 
3.1 Algicide  
chemical agent which under defined conditions is capable of killing algae including their spores.  
 
3.2 Antimicrobial agent:  
any agent that kills or suppresses the growth of microorganisms.  
 
3.3 Antisepsis  
destruction or inhibition of micro -organisms on living tissue having the effect of limiting or  preventing the  harmful 
results of infection. It is NOT a synonym for disinfection.  
 
3.4 Antiseptic  
chemical agent used in antisepsis.  
 
3.5 Asepsis:  
prevention from contamination with microorganisms. Includes sterile conditions on tissues, on materials, and in 
rooms, as obtained by excluding, removing, or killing organisms.  
 
3.4 Bactericide  
chemical agent which under defined conditions is capable of killing bacteria but not necessarily  bacterial spores 
(see sporicide).  
 
3.6 Bacteriostasis  
state in which multiplication  of bacterial population  is inhibited.  
 
3.7 Bacteriostat  
chemical agent which under defined conditions induced bacteriostasis.  
 
3.8 Bioburden:  
microbiological load (i.e., number of viable organisms in or on the object or surface) or organic material on a 
surface or object prior to decontamination, or sterilization, also known as “bioload” or “microbial load.”   
 
3.9 Biocide  
general term for a chemical agent capable of killing or inactivating micro -organisms. It embraces the  more 
specific terms algicide, bactericide, fungicide, sporicide and virucide (see also germicide).  
  
2 
 NOTE Pesticides are not considered to be biocides.  
 
3.10 Biofilm  
accumulated mass of bacteria and extracellular material that is tightly adhered to a surface and cannot be easily 
removed.  
 
3.11 Biologic indicator  
device to monitor the sterilization process that consists of a standardized population bacterial spores known to 
be resistant to the mode of sterilization being monitored. Biological indicators  indicate that all the parameters 
necessary for sterilization were present.   
 
3.12 Bleach  
household bleach (that includes 5.25% or 6.00% –6.15% sodium hypochlorite depending on manufacturer) is 
usually diluted in water at 1:10 or 1:100. Approximate dilutions are 1.5 cups of bleach in a gallon of water for a 
1:10 dilution (~6,000 ppm) and 0.25 cup of bleach in a gallon of water for a 1:100 dilution (~600 ppm).  
 
3.13 Chemical sterilizing agent  
chemical agent which under defined condition s lead  to sterilization.  
 
3.14 Contact time  
time a disinfectant is in direct contact with the surface or item to be disinfected. For surface disinfection, this 
period is framed by the application to the surface until complete drying has occurred.  
 
3.15 Contaminated  
state of having been in contact with microorganisms. As used in health care, it generally refers to 
microorganisms capable of producing disease or infection.   
 
3.16 Cleaning  
the removal of visible soil, organic and inorganic contamination from a device or surface, using either the 
physical action of scrubbing with a surfactant or detergent and water or an energy -based process (e.g., 
ultrasonic cleaners) with appropriate chemical agents.   
 
3.17 Culture  
growth of microorganisms in or on a nutrient medium; to grow microorganisms in or on such a medium.  
 
3.18 Culture medium  
substance or preparation used to grow and cultivate microorganisms.  
 
3.19 Detergent  
compounds that possess a cleaning action and have hydrophilic and lipophilic parts. Although products used 
for handwashing or antiseptic handwash in a health -care setting represent various types of detergents, the term 
“soap” is used to refer to such detergents in this guideline. Detergents make no antimicrobial claims o n the 
label.   
 
3.20 Disinfectant  
chemical agent used on inanimate objects (i.e., nonliving) (e.g., floors, walls, sinks) to destroy virtually all 
recognized pathogenic microorganisms, but not necessarily all microbial forms (e.g., bacterial endospores). The 
EPA groups disinfectants on whether the product label claims “limited,” “general” or “hospital” disinfectant.  
 
3.21 Disinfection  
destruction of micro -organisms, but not usually bacterial spores; it does not necessarily kill all  micro -organisms, 
but reduces them to a level acceptable for a defined purpose, for example, a level  which is neither harmful to 
health nor to the quality of perishable good s. 
 
3.22 Fungicide  
chemical agent which under defined conditions is capable of killing fungi including their spores.  
 
3.23 Fungistasis  
state in which the development of  fungal population is inhibited  
 
3.24 Fungistat  
chemical agent which under defined conditions induces fungistasis.   
3 
  
3.25 General disinfectant  
EPA-registered disinfectant labeled for use against both gram -negative and gram -positive bacteria. Efficacy is 
demonstrated against both Salmonella choleraesuis  and Staphylococcus aureus . Also called broad -spectrum 
disinfectant . 
 
3.26 High -level disinfection  
disinfection process that inactivates vegetative bacteria, mycobacteria, fungi, and viruses but not necessarily 
high numbers of bacterial spores.  
 
3.27 High -level disinfectant  
agent capable of killing bacterial spores when used in sufficient c oncentration under suitable conditions. It 
therefore is expected to kill all other microorganisms  
 
3.28 Intermediate -level disinfection  
disinfection process that inactivates vegetative bacteria, most fungi, mycobacteria, and most viruses 
(particularly the enveloped viruses) but not bacterial spores.  
 
3.29 Intermediate -level disinfectant  
liquid chemical germicide registered by the EPA as hospital disinfectant and with a label claim of potency as a 
tuberculocidal.   
 
3.30 Limited disinfectant  
disinfectant registered for use against a specific major group of organisms (gram -negative or gram -positive 
bacteria). Efficacy has been demonstrated in laboratory tests against either Salmonella choleraesuis  or 
Staphylococcus aureus  bacteria.  
 
3.31 Low-level disinfection  
process that will inactivate most vegetative bacteria, some fungi, and some viruses but cannot be relied on to 
inactivate resistant microorganisms (e.g., mycobacteria or bacterial spores).  
 
3.32 Low-level disinfectant:  
liquid chemical germicide registered by the EPA as a hospital disinfectant. OSHA requires low -level disinfectants 
also to have a label claim for potency against HIV and HBV if used for disinfecting clinical contact surfaces.  
 
3.33 Microbicide:  
any substance or mixture of substances that effectively kills microorganisms.  
 
3.34 Micro -organisms  
microscopic entity capable of replication. It includes bacteria, viruses and the microscopic forms of algae, fungi 
and protozoa.  
 
3.35 Shelf life:  
length of time an undiluted or use dilution of a product can remain active and effective. Also refers to the length 
of time a sterilized product (e.g., sterile instrument set) is expected to remain sterile.  
 
3.36 Spore:  
relatively water -poor round or elliptical resting cell consisting of condensed cytoplasm and nucleus surrounded 
by an impervious cell wall or coat. Spores are relatively resistant to disinfectant and sterilant activity and drying 
conditions (specifically in  the genera Bacillus  and Clostridium ). 
 
3.37 Sporicide  
chemical agent which under defined conditions is capable of killing bacterial spores.  
 
3.38 Sterile  
free from all living micro -organisms  
 
3.39 Sterilization  
process which renders an item sterile  
 
 
  
4 
 3.40 Sterilant  
agent or combination of agents which under defined conditions leads to sterilization.  
 
3.41 Virucide  
chemical agent which under defined conditions is capable of killing or inactivating viruses.  
 
3.42 Germ  
microorganism especially one which causes disease.  
 
3.43 Germicide  
agent which under defined conditions is capable of killing germs.  
 
3.44 Sanitization  
process of both cleaning and disinfecting an item or surface (living and non living)  for the purpose of health and 
hygiene . 
 
3.45 Sanitizer  
chemical agent used for sanitization  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
5 
 Bibliography  
 
EAS 384:2005, Disinfectants — Glossary of terms  
 
BS 5283:1986 – British Standard — Glossary of terms relating to disinfectants .