Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 25th April 2024 Issue no. 1111

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New disinfection blue light system brings hope to hospitals' antibiotic resistance fight

Antibiotic resistance (AMR) and surgical site infections (SSI) currently pose a significant issue and increasing threat for hospitals. This innovation provides a safer operating room environment by reducing SSIs and helps to reduce the development of the AMR of microbes.

Halton, a technology leader in ultra-clean ventilation systems, integrates disinfection blue light to eliminate microbes from surfaces while being 100% safe for the staff and patients.

In May 2015, the World Health Assembly adopted a global action plan on AMR, which threatens the effective prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses, and fungi. AMR threatens the very core of modern medicine and the sustainability of an effective, global public health response to the enduring threat from infectious diseases. Without harmonised and immediate action on a worldwide scale, the world is heading towards a post-antibiotic era in which common infections could once again kill.

Healthcare-associated infections are causing around 37,000 deaths and 16 million extra days of hospital stay annually in Europe. HAIs continue to place a substantial burden on our healthcare system. Among the most common HAIs are SSIs which are accountable for most perioperative morbidity and prolonged hospitalisation. According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention & Control, on any given day, 81,089 patients in European acute care hospitals are battling at least one HAI.

"The cost of treating an SSI involving an implant is associated with €344,000 - 420 000 per infection," explains Kim Hagström, director, Technology, Halton Oy.

Harri Rautio, CEO of project partner LED Tailor, says: "I am delighted to make our rapid and automating photon disinfection technology available now through Halton's ventilation products, aimed for operating rooms worldwide. LED Tailor's disinfection system inside Halton's Vita OR Space system automatically destroys microbes, including the E.Coli and Staphylococcus aureus, very efficiently from all OR surfaces, resulting in 5log10 reductions (99.999) in four - 12 hours, depending on the size and type of the system installed."

Sami Ahonen, head of sales & marketing, Halton Health, says:
"I am very pleased with the co-operation with LED Tailor and being able to bring this innovation to the hospital operating rooms. We want to help the hospitals fight against antibiotic resistance, which is a major issue for them.

"The disinfection blue light kills microbes from surfaces, which are hard to reach by a traditional cleaning method.

"The system is configurated so that the disinfection mode is automatically turned on when the room is not occupied. The embedded general lighting further reduces the need for multiple systems and saves space for medical installations."

www.halton.com / www.ledtailor.fi

27th May 2021