Innovative antiseptic gives hope for hospital infections

Source: Exec Digital UK

Date :07/10/2008 14:53:27

A US hospital puts its no-infections record down to a UK company’s unique anti-microbial technology.

Munroe hospital in Bloomington, Indiana, has been using Byotrol’s innovative disinfectant for the past two years. In that time it has treated 26,000 patients, and has not had one reported case of MRSA or C difficile.

Byotrol, created by the Collyhurst-based company of the same name, works by not only killing bacteria, viruses and fungi, but by leaving an anti-microbial surface which remains active days after it has been applied.

While existing disinfectants such as bleach are only effective while they are wet, Byotrol leaves an anti-microbial layer which remains active long after it has dried. This means that in addition to killing germs initially, it can prevent them breeding again.

"We tested it in the lab and found that it could stop MRSA from developing for up to three days, so we decided to use it in the hospital,” said James Ballard, Munroe hospital’s Director of Infection Prevention. “With a facility our size I would have expected at least some cases of hospital-acquired MRSA and C difficile, but so far we have had none."

Fighting the superbugs

Last year, 8,000 UK deaths were linked to superbugs caught in hospitals, and this new technology could be an extremely useful tool to fight it. Though Byotrol’s inventor Stephen Falder, is hesitant to claim it could cut existing infection rates down to zero, he says “it is significant that Munroe Hospital has had these results, especially with this volume of patients using its facilities.”

The disinfectant has been used in some UK hospitals on high-contact surfaces such as wheelchair and door handles. “It makes surfaces easier to clean as well as residually anti-microbial, it means it takes less time to clean surfaces,” said Ballard. A handwash version of Byotrol has been developed, which is alcohol-free, and so kinder than traditional antibacterial washes.

The long-term results of widespread use remain to be seen. However, inventor Stephen Falder appears very confident. “While it may look to the human eye like nothing special, Byotrol appears to be liquid doom to bacteria,” he said.