Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 4th December 2025 Issue no. 1189

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Surface contamination linked to 1.27 million AMR deaths; experts warn of hidden threat

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) remains one of the greatest global health threats of our time. According to the World Health Organisation, antibiotic-resistant infections are directly responsible for an estimated 1.27 million deaths globally every year, and data from the Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) Project forecasts 39 million deaths between 2025 and 2050 if decisive action isn't taken.

As governments focus on reducing antibiotic misuse, Hydrachem, a leader in surface disinfection and water purification for over 50 years, is highlighting the critical role contaminated surfaces play in enabling the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections.

Superbugs such as MRSA, C. difficile and drug-resistant E. coli can remain active for days - even months - on surfaces, fuelling outbreaks and reinfection despite strong clinical protocols. Hydrachem warns that without robust environmental hygiene, healthcare systems risk losing ground in the battle against AMR.

"The fight against AMR is a fight to break the chain of infection,” says Hydrachem’s chief commercial officer, Nicolas Barbieri. “If we sterilise the environment effectively, we eliminate the places where these pathogens hide, preventing their transmission to vulnerable patients. Preventing reinfection starts with consistent, evidence-based disinfection that stops pathogens in their tracks."

As healthcare services face winter pressures and rising cases of drug-resistant infections, Hydrachem is urging national and healthcare leaders to take a wider view of infection control, recognising environmental hygiene as an important AMR prevention strategy.

Hydrachem's expertise extends across 60 countries, supplying disinfection solutions trusted by hospitals, humanitarian organisations and the NHS. The company's BioSpot surface disinfection system represents a new generation of infection control technology, designed to eliminate multiple germs, including C. difficile spores and MRSA, on surfaces frequently linked to cross-contamination.

"Surface disinfection isn't glamorous, but it is fundamental and the unsung hero of infection control," emphasises Nicolas. "It's not enough to have the right antibiotics if we're constantly reintroducing patients to pathogens we're trying to eliminate. Every surface we properly disinfect is one less opportunity for resistant bacteria to spread - it's about creating an environment where antibiotics can actually work.

"Healthcare facilities need to ask themselves if they are doing everything possible to break the chain of infection. With what we know about AMR, doing everything means looking beyond issuing prescriptions to the surfaces that surround patients every single day."

The call from Hydrachem comes during World AMR Awareness Week (18th -24th November), during which the WHO has called for coordinated action to 'Act Now: Protect Our Present, Secure Our Future'.

https://hydrachem.com/

20th November 2025