The correlation between ATP measurement and microbial contamination of inanimate surfaces.

Reproducibility of ATP measurements and ACC's on the same fomite was good. However, the correlation between RLU values and ACC's on hospital surfaces was much lower. This may be explained by the wide variety of biological material that is measured with ATP, of which the bacterial load is only one of many components. ATP measurement can be used to give a quantifiable outcome for the rating of cleanliness in health care facilities, however the results cannot be translated into the level of microbial contamination.