Germicidal Ultraviolet-C Disinfection Poised to Reduce the Rate of Hospital Acquired Infections and Halt the Spread of Ebola Virus

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The use of Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) technology is quickly emerging as one of the preeminent means to quickly and effectively disinfect hospital settings, including settings in which the patient is being treated for the Ebola virus.

Hospital Acquired Infections or HAIs are a fast growing problem for health care facilities. The CDC says that "about 1 in 20 patients have an infection while receiving health care treatment in U.S. hospitals."  Research shows that about 1.7 Americans develop HAIs each year and 99,000 die of HAIs annually.  The economic burden to the U.S. may be as high as $45 billion per year.

Finding better ways to effectively disinfect health care settings is an ongoing struggle for health care professionals.  As a result, scientists and engineers are developing this technology as a means to combat pathogens such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile in healthcare settings.  UV-C has already been proven to be very effective in disinfecting and treating water.

Moreover, the recent experience of two health care workers becoming infected with the Ebola virus while treating an infected patient is bringing the nation's attention to gaps in the ability to protect physicians, nurses, environmental service personnel and airline passengers from dangerous pathogens.

Peter Gordon, managing partner at Germgard Lighting, LLC, and LiTeProducts, LLC, and a co- chair of the IUVA Health Care Working Group, says, "UV-C technology has been demonstrated to be an excellent germicidal agent in health care settings.  It is a fast and efficacious disinfectant, and it can effectively protect patients and health care workers from a variety of dangerous pathogens, including the Ebola virus."

UV-C is applied by exposing contaminated surfaces and air to a burst of germicidal light, which is able to rapidly inactivate infectious microorganisms.

According to Mr. Gordon, hospital surfaces are being continually contaminated by pathogens transmitted by people who enter the room with contaminated hands and compromised clothing, contaminated instruments and items that are brought into the room, and even the patient in the room. In addition, the air entering the room is not sterile and deposits pathogens containing fomites, which settle onto surfaces, adding to the degree of compromise of what is expected to be a safe and clean health care environment.

UV-C technology offers a way to quickly and effectively disinfect the most important surfaces in hospitals and other health care settings, with special attention to those areas, surfaces and equipment closest to the patient, where health care workers also have the greatest chance of exposure.

While UV-C offers several advantages over chemical disinfection agents, Mr. Gordon is quick to point out that it has its limitations.  The effectiveness of UV-C depends on surfaces being cleaned prior to exposure to UV-C, the application of UV-C usually requires that that patient and health care workers are not in the area, and the fundamental optics of UV-C result in some surfaces getting only indirect sanitation from the UV-C light. However, "in the special case of Ebola virus, given the opaqueness of personal protection gear, UV-C may be useful in the decontamination of that gear prior to removal, and it can lower the risks for disposal as well," he suggests.

Today, there is no disinfection technique, short of sterilization, that is absolutely 100 percent effective in destroying all infectious pathogens.  And, of course, sterilization is impractical for the patient and the health care worker in a number of applications. However, UV-C technology, even in its nascent stage, offers many opportunities to improve the degree and effectiveness of sanitation efforts, as well as the ability to verify effectiveness.  Furthermore, it is expected that the technology will evolve so that its ability to provide targeted disinfection will improve as well.

In any case, UV-C has a big opportunity to become a leader in addressing the problems of disinfection today and for indefinite future. With proper and high integrity validation, it can become a welcome new infection prevention addition to the germ fighting tool kit. 

Deb Martinez, executive director of IUVA, says, "IUVA will promote standards in the use and application of UV-C, and do our best to make sure the health care industry understands its advantages along with its limitations.  In the end, we should have a healthier health care environment."

A one-day IUVA workshop exploring UV-C for infection prevention is being held Oct. 28, 2014, in White Plains, N.Y.

IUVA's mission is to advance the science, engineering and applications of ultraviolet water disinfection and air treatment technologies to enhance the quality of human life and to protect the environment. Founded in 1999, it is a 501(c)3 educational association with more than 500 members in 35 countries. IUVA is recognized as the leading knowledge base and voice for UV technologies through its varied conferences and programs. For more information please visit www.iuva.org

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SOURCE International Ultraviolet Association

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