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Antimicrobial Copper Surfaces may Kill Bacteria Causing Hospital Infections

by Kathy Jones on Jul 2 2011 8:11 PM

 Antimicrobial Copper Surfaces may Kill Bacteria Causing Hospital Infections
A new study presented at the 1st International Conference on Prevention and Infection Control (ICPIC) in Geneva suggests that almost all of the bacteria that cause hospital-acquired infections in ICUs can be killed by utilizing antimicrobial copper surfaces.
The study was presented by Dr Michael Schmidt from the Medical University of South Carolina and concurs with three previous studies conducted in US hospitals which suggested replacing the heavily contaminated touch surfaces with antimicrobial copper.

The study revealed that utilizing antimicrobial copper could kill more than 97 percent of the bacteria that cause hospital acquired infections. According to figures released by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, hospital acquired infections is the fourth leading cause of death in the US with more than 100,000 deaths occurring every year.

Stating that bacteria present on contaminated surfaces in the ICU account for majority of the infections, Dr Schmidt said, “Bacteria present on ICU room surfaces are probably responsible for up to 80 percent of patient infections, demonstrating how critical it is to keep hospitals clean. The copper objects used in the clinical trial lowered microbial levels and supplemented cleaning protocols.”

Source-Medindia


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