MRSA Infection & Symptoms

Targeted cleaning in hospitals can cut MRSA rates and save money

More at: Targeted cleaning in hospitals can cut MRSA rates and save money | News | Nursing Times.

Just one extra cleaner on a hospital ward can reduce MRSA infections and save tens of thousands of pounds. The year-long study, sponsored by Unison and published in a peer-reviewed journal, found that one extra cleaner, using targeted cleaning methods, had a “measurable effect on the clinical environment”, reduced new MRSA infections and saved the hospital involved £30,000-£70,000.  It found enhanced cleaning led to a 32.5 per cent reduction in microbial contamination at hand touch sites. Cases of MRSA fell in the six months of targeted cleaning on ward A, and then rose again when the cleaner moved to ward B, which in turn saw the number of cases fall.

Portable UV unit cuts MRSA contamination by 89%

Researchers Present 'a Novel, Automated, Efficient Environmental Disinfection Technology that Significantly Reduces C. difficile, VRE and MRSA Contamination' | Reuters.

In a study presented at the 49th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), researchers used a mobile, automated UV device to decontaminate hospital rooms at the Cleveland Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center in Ohio and analyzed its ability to remove troublesome bacteria, including C. difficile spores. The device, known as Tru-D, uses reflected UVC germicidal energy to decontaminate air and surfaces, including those in primary shadows. Tru-D is manufactured by Lumalier in Memphis, Tennessee. Curtis Donskey, MD, Chair of the Infection Control Committee at the Cleveland VA Medical Center, concluded that Tru-D is a "novel method for cleaning hospital rooms...easy to use...and more effective than standard disinfection for removing hardy bacteria. The Tru-D device was able to decontaminate all surfaces in 40 hospital rooms, including hard-to-clean surfaces such as the undersides of tables." 18% of sites under the edges of bedside tables were still contaminated with MRSA after routine hospital cleaning, versus 0% after Tru-D use. Research revealed that disinfection with Tru-D reduced the frequency of positive MRSA and VRE cultures by 89%.

New hi-tech centre opens at Aintree Hospital to help beat superbugs like MRSA

New hi-tech centre opens at Aintree Hospital to help beat superbugs like MRSA and C dificile - Maghull Star.

A HI-TECH new centre has opened at Aintree hospital to help beat superbugs. The decontamination unit – the first of its kind in Merseyside – features high-powered steam hoses and fogging machines to blast C difficile and MRSA. It also reduces the time it takes to clinically clean ward areas by up to 50%, allowing new patients to be admitted to beds more quickly. The cleaning of patient areas, which also involves the cleaning of beds and furniture, normally happens on the wards and is limited because of the chemicals that can be used. The new facility provides a dedicated area to strip and deep clean lots of equipment within a purpose-built area. The equipment is blasted and allowed to dry before being treated with a hydrogen peroxide dry mist.

Elastomer Is Effective Against MRSA Growth

Bio-Guardian Elastomer Is Effective Against Bacterial Growth - Engineer Live, For Engineers, By Engineers.

Results from tests carried out by the Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene at Phillipps University Marburg, in Germany, have shown that Bio-Guardian elastomer compound has a significant germ reduction and growth inhibition effect on bacteria such as E-coli and MRSA. Developed by Garlock Sealing Technologies, Bio-Guardian is a mouldable compound incorporating silver ions (Ag2+) and is already available in the Garlock Cefil'Air range of inflatable seals. In production environments where a low germ count is essential, such as the food and pharmaceutical industries, biostatic growth inhibition is critical. Measured against a controlled test to Japanese standard JIS L 1902:1998, 2002, Bio-Guardian met food sector requirements with reduction rates of three to four log 10 levels for tested species including E-coli, MRSA and VRE. Cefil'Air Bio-Guardian seals provide good sealing for irregular moving surfaces such as door or lid type closures. The inflatable design of the seal allows it to be deflated and inflated as required to provide a secure seal between two surfaces. Bio-Guardian seal elastomer will withstand temperatures from -100 to 250 degrees C and pressures from 0.5-10.4bar in a wide range of liquid or gaseous media. Applications for Cefil'Air Bio-Guardian include sealing access points for clean room entry; where the door seal becomes exposed to an external environment, its ability to reduce germs and prevent micro-organism development helps to maintain clean room integrity.

Hospitals get new hi-tech chairs to reduce MRSA risk

Hospitals get new hi-tech chairs to reduce superbug risk | Society | The Observer.

A prototype chair designed to eliminate the risk of spreading hospital superbugs is being tweaked by engineers before going into mass production later this year. The chair, the result of a groundbreaking collaboration between the Department of Health and the Design Council, may not win any awards for beauty, but its shape does avoid the nooks and crannies thought to harbour the MRSA and C difficile superbugs. The chair should soon become a staple part of the British hospital experience. Slightly more adventurous, not to say space age, in appearance is the replacement wheelchair, or "porter chair", designed by Minima as part of the same Design Bugs Out project. This movable chair, reminiscent of a dodgem car from some angles, has minimal "touch" points to prevent cross-contamination between patients. Both chairs were tested in NHS hospitals over the summer.

Groundbreaking Chemistry To Tackle HAI Outbreaks

Scoop: Groundbreaking Chemistry To Tackle MRSA on Surfaces.

Researchers have developed a new cleaning chemistry which kills the broadest spectrum of organisms responsible for leading Healthcare-associated Infections (HAIs), including the latest hospital superbug Clostridium difficile spores, in 5 minutes or less. The group from Clean Earth Technologies in Earth City, Missouri USA found that a combination of dilute hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid can deliver kill times twice as fast as bleach. While effective against over 30 different organisms, testing data shows that the formulation can eradicate Clostridium difficile spores within five minutes and the Acinetobacter baumannii bacteria within 30 seconds. These organisms, which cause significant patient morbidity and mortality, can survive on environmental surfaces for up to five months*.

MRSA Detection on Surfaces to be Speeded Up

Superbug Screening SciScoop Science News.

Using direct light microscopy technology, Best Scientific, a British company based in Swindon, have been able to detect each of the three pathogens on a variety of hospital surfaces. The company’s aim is to use their findings to build a mobile detection unit to enable MRSA, C-diff. and A. baumannii to be identified rapidly and efficiently by hospital staff without the need for laborious swabbing and culture processes. “These three highly dangerous pathogens are capable of survival on surfaces and equipment for long periods,” explains Dr Eric Best, managing director of Best Scientific. “As such, they pose a high risk to hospital patients, a risk which our screening results show could be very significantly reduced. “We believe, in fact, that an instantaneous assessment of contamination levels within the hospital environment is achievable using direct light microscopy technology. This would allow us to identify contaminated surfaces and equipment by visualizing microbes on food, surgical instruments and a variety of materials used as contact surfaces such as stainless steel, plastics, vinyl, metals and clothing. The potential exists, therefore, to visually screen surgical equipment and hospital surfaces.”

Study shows college students are in MRSA hotspots

Study shows college students are not following CDC recommendations to help protect themselves from H1N1 and other threatening germs | Health Informer.

Thousands of bacteria lurk in college dormitories, but students are not following proper hygiene routines to help protect themselves from serious illness, according to a study released today from the Simmons College Center for Hygiene and Health in Home and Community, sponsored by an educational grant from LYSOL® brand products.(1) Despite growing concerns about influenza A (H1N1) on college campuses and recent study results estimating that of the ways influenza infection may be contracted, contact with contaminated surfaces may account for thirty one percent (31%) of the infection risk, only sixty three percent (63%) of students polled had cleaned their dorm room in the past week.(2) Eighty three percent (83%) had never cleaned their light switch and seventy three percent (73%) admitted they had never cleaned their dorm room door handle, one of the most frequently-touched surfaces and a conduit for germ spread.(3) Such habits expose students to thousands of bacteria, including MRSA, E. coli, fecal organisms, streptococcus and more, just by touching common surfaces in their dorm.(4) Study results show: – Communal shower floors were the most contaminated surface in the dorm, harboring more than 40 times the number of bacteria found on the toilet seat.(5) Forty three percent (43%) of shower floors were contaminated with bacteria that can indicate fecal contamination and twenty percent (20%) hid streptococci. – Dorm room refrigerator door handles harbored twice as many bacteria as shared dorm toilet handles. Thirty seven percent (37%) encountered bacteria that can indicate fecal contamination and thirteen percent (13%) encountered staph.(6) – Fifty six percent (56%) of students admitted they had never cleaned the interior of their dorm room refrigerator, making it no surprise that thirty percent (30%) of refrigerators harbored fecal indicators.(7) – While television remote controls and shared bathroom sink handles fare relatively well, both were found to be contaminated with MRSA, the dangerous drug-resistant bacteria, in some dorm rooms studied.(8)

Patients' Bath Basins as Potential Sources of Infection

Patients' Bath Basins as Potential Sources of Infection: A Multicenter Sampling Study -- Johnson et al. 18 (1): 31 -- American Journal of Critical Care.

Methods In a prospective study at 3 acute care hospitals, 92 bath basins, including basins from 3 intensive care units, were evaluated. Sterile culture sponges were used to obtain samples from the basins. The culture sponges were sent to an outside laboratory, and qualitative and quantitative microbial tests were conducted and the results reported. Results Some form of bacteria grew in 98% of the samples (90 sponges), either by plating or on enrichment (95% confidence interval, 92%–99.7%). The organisms with the highest positive rates of growth on enrichment were enterococci (54%), gram-negative organisms (32%), Staphylococcus aureus (23%), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (13%), methicillin-resistant S aureus (8%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (5%), Candida albicans (3%), and Escherichia coli (2%). Mean plate counts, in colony-forming units, were 10 187 for gram-negative organisms, 99 for E coli, 30 for P aeruginosa, 86 for S aureus, 207 for enterococci, and 31 for vancomycin-resistant enterococci. Conclusions Bath basins are a reservoir for bacteria and may be a source of transmission of hospital-acquired infections. Increased awareness of bath basins as a possible source of transmission of hospital-acquired infections is needed, particularly for high-risk patients.

Sanitizer overuse breeds 'super bug'

montgomeryadvertiser.com ::  JAMES BROWN: Sanitizer overuse breeds 'super bug'.

While Germ-X is highly effec­tive, its effectiveness is part of the problem. The rate of bacteri­al destruction is 99.9 percent, leaving only a small number of organisms that remain non-re­sistant to this sanitizer and re­quire a stronger killer to get the job done. These remaining organisms, which were resistant prior to coming under attack, once had competition for food, space, and shelter, but now they are with­out competition from non-resis­tantforms of the same bacteria, hence they are free to reproduce unabated. Doctors recommend hand washing in soapy warm water. According to doctors, there is re­ally no need for bacterial killing agents in the general population -- unless of course one wishes to help manifest another "super bug."

Doorknobs and TV remotes are germ hotbeds - Yahoo! News

Doorknobs and TV remotes are germ hotbeds - Yahoo! News.

Someone in your house have the sniffles? Watch out for the refrigerator door handle. The TV remote, too. A new study finds that cold sufferers often leave their germs there, where they can live for two days or longer. Scientists at the University of Virginia, long known for its virology research, tested surfaces in the homes of people with colds and reported the results Tuesday at the nation's premier conference on infectious diseases. Doctors don't know how often people catch colds from touching germy surfaces as opposed to, say, shaking a sick person's hand, said Dr. Birgit Winther, an ear, nose and throat specialist who helped conduct the study. Two years ago, she and other doctors showed that germs survived in hotel rooms a day after guests left, waiting to be picked up by the next person checking in.

Objects Closest to Patients are Most Contaminated, Survey Finds

Objects Closest to Patients are Most Contaminated, Survey Finds.

The findings being presented at ICAAC show that the most heavily contaminated objects are those in closest proximity to the patients: bed rails, call buttons and chairs were found to have the highest levels of staphylococcus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE). These pathogens can survive for extended periods of time on such objects, which act as reservoirs for the bacteria. Independent laboratory studies have shown that copper, brass and bronze are more than 99.9 percent effective in killing potentially deadly pathogens, such as MRSA, which are commonly found in healthcare facilities. In response to these findings, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has registered copper, brass and bronze as antimicrobial materials, allowing public health claims to be made about them.

Birmingham hospital discovers copper can kill MRSA and C Diff

Birmingham hospital discovers copper can kill MRSA and C Diff - Birmingham Post.

A Birmingham hospital study has revealed surfaces made with materials containing copper can kill numerous micro-organisms, including MRSA and Clostridium difficile (C diff). This could lead to the number of patients, staff and visitors that come into contact with the superbugs being cut, the report revealed. The 18-month-study at Selly Oak Hospital found copper items had up to 95 per cent fewer micro-organisms, including superbugs, when compared to those on surfaces made of stainless steel. Professor Tom Elliott, consultant microbiologist and deputy medical director at University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, said: “What this must mean is the risk of picking up an infection is reduced, because we know one of the vehicles where organisms can spread from one surface to another is by touch. The results are very exciting. The findings of a 90 to 95 per cent killing of those organisms, even after a busy day on a medical ward with items being touched by numerous people, is remarkable. It may well offer us another mechanism for trying to defeat the spread of infection.”

New Study: Disinfectants Can Make Bacteria Resistant to Treatment

Link: New Study: Disinfectants Can Make Bacteria Resistant to Treatment.

Chemicals used in the environment to kill bacteria could be making them stronger, according to a paper published in the October issue of the journal Microbiology. Low levels of these chemicals, called biocides, can make the potentially lethal bacterium Staphylococcus aureus remove toxic chemicals from the cell even more efficiently, potentially making it resistant to being killed by some antibiotics. Biocides are used in disinfectants and antiseptics to kill microbes. They are commonly used in cleaning hospitals and home environments, sterilizing medical equipment and decontaminating skin before surgery. At the correct strength, biocides kill bacteria and other microbes. However, if lower levels are used the bacteria can survive and become resistant to treatment.

Scientists shed light on how to kill MRSA

Link: Scientists shed light on how to kill MRSA - Times Online.

A team of Dublin-based scientists claims to have discovered a way to kill MRSA bugs living on hospital walls, tiles, machinery and soft furnishings. Just turn on the lights. Irish health authorities are reluctant to reveal how many MRSA-related deaths occur in Ireland each year, but the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has stated that 589 cases of the hospital-acquired infection were reported in 2006 and 537 cases in 2007. Suresh Pillai, a senior scientist based at the Crest centre at the Dublin Institute of Technology, has filed a patent for a method to destroy bacteria, including MRSA, that involves breaking open their cell walls. Pillai said that he uses photocatalysis, a method involving light shining onto a semi-conductor material that creates new molecules capable of killing MRSA. The bug is destroyed when light hits the surface it is sitting on, whether that is a tiled hospital floor or a surgeon’s instruments. The magic ingredient is titanium dioxide, that can be incorporated into paint, glazes used to cover tiled floors, and pigments used to colour soft fabrics and furniture.

Personal contact more MRSA infectious than surfaces

Link: Parents, teens should be knowledgeable about MRSA.

Sherman Alter, MD, director of infectious disease at The Children’s Medical Center of Dayton, says teens are targets for MRSA because: • Their immune systems are not fully developed. • They have not built up antibodies for common germs. • Many participate in contact sports like football, wrestling or basketball. “MRSA is becoming a problem in all age groups, but teens are at an even higher risk,” says Dr. Alter. “Teens involved in contact sports or other group activities need to be especially careful because of the way MRSA is spread.” MRSA is spread when an open area on the skin, like a cut or scrape, comes into contact with secretions (e.g., pus draining from the wound) from someone that’s infected. In rare cases, MRSA can be unknowingly transferred through mouth and nose secretions from people who carry the germ but do not show symptoms. “The risk of infection through contact with surfaces like floors, walls and seats is much less than through contact with an infected individual or their personal equipment,” says Dr. Alter. “Because of the constant use of facilities, a clean area wouldn’t drastically reduce the risk of getting the infection. Good personal hygiene is more important for stopping the spread of MRSA.”

TANCS Steam Vapor Wipes Out MRSA and VRE

Link: TANCS Steam Vapor Wipes Out MRSA and VRE.

The TANCS® steam vapor system is designed to kill bacteria and other pathogens while thoroughly cleaning surfaces by removing deeply embedded contaminants. TANCS® steam vapor systems offer a simple water-only cleaning and disinfection process. Heat, not pressure, does the deep cleaning and disinfecting. Contained, sustained heat breaks the bond between contaminants and a surface. According to Benjamin Tanner, president of Antimicrobial Test Laboratories, "The TANCS System has shown extraordinary results in laboratory tests. A 99.9999% reduction of MRSA and VRE on surfaces within 5 seconds is a level of performance that chemical disinfectants may never achieve." "For the MRSA and VRE experiments, tens of millions of viable cells in a 5% artificial soil suspension were spread over porous clay surfaces," explained Benjamin D. Tanner, PhD, president of Antimicrobial Test Laboratories. "At least 6 million viable MRSA or VRE cells were present on each test surface after the inoculum was dried, creating a film. The surfaces were then treated briefly with the saturated steam device, for periods of 0.5, 1, 2 and 5 seconds. Immediately after treatment, test surfaces were transferred to a broth suspension for cooling and microbial enumeration by duplicate plating. The experiment was designed to detect even a single surviving microorganism after treatment with the TANCS Steam Vapor."

Full steam ahead for Proventec cleaning technique

Link: Full steam ahead for Proventec.

The company is led by David Chestnutt, finance director at Liverpool Football Club in the late 90s. Its OspreyDeepClean unit specialises in dry steam cleaning technology that can clear an area of germs and bacteria without using chemicals. Interest is rising as legislative pressures and performance targets get hospitals and trusts in cleaning mode. In January, it won a 14-month tender for the sole provision of specialist steam cleaning equipment to the NHS. The deal was a direct response to the UK government's £50m of extra funding for the Strategic Health Authority Full year profits, announced today, grew to £1.34m from £1.31m a year ago, but a 10-month contribution from new addition, Contico, helped turnover almost triple to £14.32m. "Undoubtedly the biggest boost to our results came from Osprey and the continued acceptance of a 120-page report carried out in conjunction with the University College London Hospital, confirming that dry steam with the right tools can eradicate healthcare acquired infections," Chestnutt told ShareCast.

Special light can kill MRSA

Link: HighWire Press -- Medline Abstract.

This study was conducted to investigate the bactericidal effects of visible light on methicillin-sensitive and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and subsequently identify the wavelength sensitivity of S. aureus, in order to establish the wavelengths inducing maximum inactivation. Staphylococcus aureus, including MRSA strains, were shown to be inactivated by exposure to high-intensity visible light, and, more specifically, through a series of studies using a xenon broadband white-light source in conjunction with a selection of optical filters, it was found that inactivation of S. aureus occurs upon exposure to blue light of wavelengths between 400 and 420 nm, with maximum inactivation occurring at 405+/-5 nm. This visible-light inactivation was achieved without the addition of exogenous photosensitisers. The significant safety benefit of these blue-light wavelengths over UV light, in addition to their ability to inactivate medically important microorganisms such as MRSA, emphasises the potential of exploiting these non-UV wavelengths for disinfection applications.

Wipes spreading infection not killing it

Link: Can we 'wipe out' MRSA?.

Disinfectants are routinely used on hard surfaces in hospitals to kill bacteria, with antimicrobial containing wipes increasingly being employed for this purpose. Antimicrobial wipes were first introduced in 2005 in hospitals in Wales. A study by the University's Welsh School of Pharmacy looked into the ability of antimicrobial-surface wipes to remove, kill and prevent the spread of such infections as MRSA. They found that current protocols utilised by hospital staff have the potential to spread pathogens after only the first use of a wipe, particularly due to the ineffectiveness of wipes to actually kill bacteria. The team, led by microbiologist Dr Jean-Yves Maillard is now calling for a 'one wipe – one application – per surface' approach to infection control in healthcare environments. The research involved a surveillance programme observing hospital staff using surface wipes to decontaminate surfaces near patients, such as bed rails, and other surfaces commonly touched by staff and patients, such as monitors, tables and key pads. It was found that the wipes were being applied to the same surface several times and used on consecutive surfaces before being discarded. These actions were then replicated in the lab alongside a three-step system, developed by the research team to test the ability of several commercially available wipes to disinfect surfaces contaminated with strains Staphylococcus aureus, including MRSA and MSSA. The system tested the removal of pathogens, the transmission of them, and the anti-microbial properties of wipes. The study revealed that although some wipes can remove higher numbers of bacteria from surfaces than others, the wipes tested were unable to kill the bacteria removed. As a result, high numbers of bacteria were transferred to other surfaces when reused.