Compositions and methods for treatment and prevention of pathogens

An antimicrobial composition comprising:

• a solid oxidized chlorine species salt according to the formula:
• Mn+[Cl(O)x]nn−
• wherein M is an alkali metal, alkaline earth metal or transition metal ion, n is 1 or 2, and x is an integer from 1 to 4;
• an acid activator with the formula:
• RN(COOH)m
• or its salts, where RN is an organic moiety comprising 1-25 carbon atoms, saturated or unsaturated, optionally substituted with oxygen or hydrogen to form functional groups that cannot be oxidized by the chlorinated species, and m is an integer from 0 to 10;
• a base activator that is able to react with the acid activator to generate carbon dioxide, having the formula:
• (Mn+)s((H)tCO3)u
• wherein n is 1 or 2, s is 1 or 2, t is 0 or 1, u is 1 or 2, t+s+n is an integer from 1 to 5, and M is an alkali metal, an earth alkali metal, or a transition metal;
• and
• wherein the composition, when dissolved, has a pH between about 4 and 8.