Wet wipes may help spread hospital bugs

Conclusion This research suggests detergent cleaning wipes used in UK hospitals and the home show large variability in their ability to kill three selected microbes, including Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium difficile. Researchers tested seven commonly used wipes and found they varied a lot in their ability to kill the bugs. More worryingly, it looked like the wipes were picking up the germs rather than killing them – in almost all the wipes tested, the bugs were spread if they were used on a different surface. The implication of this is that wipes shouldn't be used on consecutive surfaces. The authors mention that "a one wipe, one surface, one direction approach" is recommended, but they suspect people use them on multiple surfaces in reality. This is a single study, so we don't know for sure that its results are reliable. There were some inaccuracies – for example, in how the study estimated the starting level of contamination in the tests. The best way to find out would be to repeat the experiments, ideally using wiping protocols used in hospitals, and on the most common surfaces. Only stainless steel surfaces were tested here. Extending the number of bugs tested would also improve the study, as only three specific types were tested. It also wasn't clear whether the amount of contamination after wiping was enough to cause or significantly raise the risk of infection. We don't know how often the wipes are used in hospital, or whether they are used alo...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medical practice Source Type: news