Professor Bill Keevil, Chair in Environmental Healthcare at the University of Southampton in the UK; renowned for his findings on Antimicrobial Copper, presented a white paper on ‘Design Parameter for Infection Control’ at the National Conference on Safe and Sustainable Hospitals (SASH 2013) organised by Academy of Hospital Administration, India. His presentation focused on new insights into the antimicrobial properties of copper touch surfaces for reducing healthcare-associated infections. The study results were based on laboratory work conducted in the university’s Environmental Healthcare Unit, exploring the extent and implications of copper’s antimicrobial efficacy.
According to Prof Keevil’s study copper can prevent horizontal transmission of genes (HGT), which has contributed to the increasing number of antibiotic-resistant infections worldwide. Appearing in the journal mBio, his paper explained that HGT in bacteria is largely responsible for the development of antibiotic resistance, which has led to hard-to-treat healthcare-associated infections. While HGT can take place in the environment, on frequently-touched surfaces such as door handles, taps and light switches; copper prevents this process from occurring and rapidly kills bacteria on contact.
Speaking about his research, Prof Keevil, said, “We know many human pathogens survive for long periods in the hospital environment and can lead to infection, expensive treatment, blocked beds and death. What we have shown in this work is the potential for strategically-placed antimicrobial copper touch surfaces to not only break the chain of contamination, but also actively reduce the risk of antibiotic resistance developing at the same time. Provided adequate cleaning continues in critical environments, copper can be employed as an important additional tool in the fight against pathogens.”
Copper is inherently antimicrobial, meaning it will kill bacteria and viruses that settle on its surface, quickly and completely. It shares this efficacy with many commonly-used alloys, such as brasses and bronzes, and they are collectively described as ‘antimicrobial copper’. Prof Keevil has found copper to have broad-spectrum efficacy against organisms threatening public health, including Influenza A, MRSA, C. difficile, E. coli and – most-recently studied – norovirus.
Beyond the healthcare environment, copper also has a wider role to play in infection control. Prof Keevil explained, “Copper touch surfaces have promise for preventing antibiotic resistance transfer in public buildings and mass transportation systems, which lead to local and – in the case of jet travel – rapid worldwide dissemination of multidrug-resistant superbugs as soon as they appear. People with inadequate hand hygiene from different countries could exchange their bugs and different antibiotic resistance genes just by touching a stair rail or door handle, ready to be picked up by someone else and passed on. Copper substantially reduces and restricts the spread of these infections, making an important contribution to improved hygiene and, consequently, health.”
At the conference, he also highlighted initial results from a comprehensive, multi-site clinical trial in the US, which demonstrate the use of antimicrobial copper surfaces in intensive care unit rooms resulted in a greater than 40 per cent reduction in the risk of acquiring a healthcare-associated infection. This and similar trials completed in the UK and Chile have shown copper’s efficacy in clinical environments, confirming the significance of Prof Keevil’s work to hospitals around the world. Installations of copper touch surfaces have already taken place across the UK and around the world, harnessing copper’s ability to continuously reduce bio-burden and consequently the risk of HCAI transmission.
EH News Bureau
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