Hydrogen peroxide spray system controls MRSA and C. difficile in
hospitals
3 October 2007 Netherlands-based TNO and Infection Control have
developed a system using hydrogen peroxide that can effectively disinfect a
hospital room in four hours. It can kill resistant forms of bacteria,
including MRSA and Clostridium difficile. The IC-4TM dosing system
refines hydrogen peroxide into a very fine spray, achieving a million-fold
reduction for bacteria and spores. Contamination by hospital bacteria is
common in hospitals. One of the most notorious is the MRSA bacteria, the
dread of many a hospital director. Each year tens of outbreaks occur in the
Netherlands, costing millions of euros in damage, and internationally the
number of outbreaks go into the thousands. The research by TNO and
Infection Control focused specifically on the capacity of hydrogen peroxide
to kill the bacteria as spores and vegetative cells. Given their highly
resistant properties, spores tend to be very difficult to kill off. The
research studied Bacillus subtiles (spores), Clostridium difficile
(spores) and Staphylococcus aureus (vegetative).
The investigation centred on determining which factors influence the
effectiveness of hydrogen peroxide as a disinfectant, specifically a stable
hydrogen peroxide solution. The ultimate concentration of hydrogen
peroxide required in the air to be sufficiently deadly is highly dependent
on the materials present(linoleum, metal, carpet, wallpaper, laminate).
Based on the relationship between the building materials and hydrogen
peroxide, TNO has determined which conditions guarantee that hydrogen
peroxide can kill micro-organisms. The tests were performed in TNO
laboratories and validated in practical situations (TerGooi hospital). The
current standard method of disinfecting a room takes a couple of days. The
new refined system for hydrogen peroxide has been shown by this research to
disinfect effectively in 4 hours. The method has been patented by
Infection Control and is being made commercially available worldwide.
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