ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF COPPER IN A CLINICAL SETTING

There is ample evidence to support an important role of the surface contamination of the environment in the spread of HAIs.

Research into the survival of nosocomial pathogens on surfaces has demonstrated that many pathogens, such as MRSA, VRE, Acinetobacter spp., Pseudomonas spp., and norovirus, are able to survive days to weeks on environmental surfaces, with a survival of months for Clostridium difficile.

Surface contamination with MRSA or VRE has been documented for up to 60 to 70% of hospital surfaces.

Hand contamination is a well-known vector of spreading pathogens, particularly through health workers. The bacterial burden, which can be expressed by positive environmental surface cultures, is the most important risk factor for hand contamination.

Clinical research has shown that fewer than half of the hospital touch surfaces are clean due to inadequate disinfection.

Apart from techniques such as cleaning and disinfection to decrease the transmission of pathogens, self-disinfecting touch surfaces have been developed.

（To be continued）

Copy from cmr.asm.org

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