RESUMO
Decontamination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) in the environment by specific methods, such as ultraviolet light and the toxic level ozone, has been effectively used. However, the efficacy of the non-toxic level ozone in the decontamination of MTB is not well documented. This study focused on the impact of non-toxic level (0.03-0.05 part per million) ozone in normal room air on MTB on a solid medium, M7H10. The non-toxic level ozone can reduce the number of MTB colonies as compared to the control. The number of MTB colonies was rapidly reduced, more than 95 percent, during the first two hours and gradually reduced during the remaining time of the experiment. The results suggest that the non-toxic level ozone, produced by specific devices, is promising for the decontamination of solid surfaces from MTB.