Environmental cleaning and disinfection practices for respiratory viruses in hospitals and long-term care facilities in the Netherlands

In 2025, five years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, international healthcare guidelines continued to recommend cleaning and disinfecting surfaces in a room after a COVID-19 patient is discharged. Meanwhile, in March 2023, the Dutch guidance document was updated to recommend cleaning only. Our aim was to determine cleaning and disinfection practices in Dutch hospitals and long-term care facilities (LTCF) concerning SARS-CoV-2, compare these to practices during the first COVID-19 wave, and explore whether they differ for other respiratory viruses.

In June 2023, a web-based survey in the Dutch language was developed and distributed among infection prevention and control professionals from hospitals and LTCF across the Netherlands. The survey included questions about cleaning and disinfection practices for SARS-CoV-2, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) at that moment, and during the first COVID-19 wave.

In total, 95 responses were analysed from academic hospitals (n = 7), non-academic hospitals (n = 56), and LTCF (n = 32). Between June 2023 and February 2024, half of the institutions applied a cleaning-only strategy. Hospitals most commonly used damp microfiber cloths. The institutions that applied cleaning and disinfection used a variety of disinfectants. Hospitals had largely changed their disinfectant since the first COVID-19 wave. Cleaning and disinfection strategies for influenza and RSV largely corresponded with those applied for SARS-CoV-2.

Despite a cleaning-only recommendation in the national guidance document, half of the institutions still applied disinfection. This highlights the need for clear and consistent guidelines on cleaning and disinfection, including setting-specific adaptation and implementation strategies.