UV light helps Duke hospitals fight transmission of super bugs

Treatment TermsInfectious diseases SEO Meta Description UV light helps hospitals cut transmission of super bugs like MRSA that linger in patient rooms and cause new infections. Author Debbe Geiger Content Blocks ContentA type of ultraviolet light called ultraviolet light C or UVC is helping hospitals cut transmission of super bugs like MRSA that linger in patient rooms and cause new infections, according to a study by Duke Health researchers. As a result, several UVC machines are now in use at Duke University Hospital, Duke Regional Hospital and Duke Raleigh Hospital Section Features Text Content Header Tough bugs to treat ContentThe large study, published inThe Lancet, finds machines that emit the UV light can cut transmission of four major super bugs by a cumulative 30 percent. The finding is specific to patients who stay overnight in a room where someone with a known positive culture or infection of a drug-resistant organism had previously been treated.“Some of these germs can live in the environment so long that even after a patient with the organism has left the room and it has been cleaned, the next patient in the room could potentially be exposed,” saidDr. Deverick J. Anderson, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Duke and lead investigator of the study. “Infections from one of these bugs are tough to treat and can be truly debilitating for a patient.”The researchers focused on what Anderson called “the top four bad bugs we’ll see i...
Source: dukehealth.org: Duke Health News - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Source Type: news