For the first time, the correlation between the efficacy of antimicrobial copper in reducing the level of pathogens in hospital rooms and its impact on lowering the rate of infection was officially confirmed.
Last July 1st 2011, at the World Health Organization conference on Prevention and Infection Control (ICPIC) in Geneva, recent results from a multi-site clinical trial in the US were presented, demonstrating that the use of antimicrobial copper surfaces in intensive care unit rooms resulted in over 40.4% reduction the risk of acquiring hospital infection.
The clinical trials took place in three US hospitals: the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, the Medical University of South Carolina and the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center, both in Charleston, South Carolina. After the replacement of commonly-touched items (bed rails, over-bed tray tables, nurse call buttons, IV poles…), with antimicrobial copper versions, rooms with copper surfaces showed a 97% reduction in surface pathogens (the same level achieved by “terminal” cleaning: the regimen conducted after each patient vacates a room).
To date, independent laboratory testing supports the claim that, when cleaned regularly, antimicrobial copper products can reduce and eliminate more than 99.9% of bacteria that cause HAIs within 2 hours of exposure; more recently, additional tests(1) showed that the time period for the antimicrobial action to take effect against certain bacteria, such as MRSA, is reduced to only 10 minutes.
The important results presented at the WHO conference confirm that antimicrobial copper, an effective material for touch surfaces, can reduce HAI rates, which amount to 7 million yearly(2) and cost over $80 billion globally, according to WHO data(3).
(1) Research from Prof Keevil, University of Southampton, UK, 2011
(2) bioMérieux Corp, First World Forum on HCAIS, 2007
(3) World Health Organization, The Burden of Health Care-Associated Infection Worldwide, 2010
