28 HEALTH AND SANITATION
Antimicrobial( Part 1)
I am by no means a microbiologist or scientist, but while researching this subject, I found it quite vast in every part of the industry.
By Andy Camphausen
Andrew Camphausen
Andrew( Andy) Camphausen has been in the building / plumbing industry for over 20 years. During his six years in the Free State, he was nominated and served as the vice-chairman of IOPSA Free State. He was offered a Regional Management position at Cobra Watertech, which is still his employer today. In 2011, Andy was promoted to National Channel Manager of the Commercial Sector, where he was transferred to the head office in Bryanston, Gauteng.
This article focuses on antimicrobial in the health care space and, in particular, on surfaces. To properly understand what‘ antimicrobial’ means, we start off with some explanations.
DEFINITION OF ANTIMICROBIAL Destroying or inhibiting the growth of microorganisms, especially pathogenic microorganisms.
WHAT IS AN ANTIMICROBIAL SURFACE? An antimicrobial surface contains an antimicrobial agent that inhibits the ability of microorganisms to grow on the surface of a material. Such surfaces are becoming more widely investigated for possible use in various settings, including clinics, industry, and even in homes.
An innovation in antimicrobial surfaces is the discovery that copper and its alloys( brasses, bronzes) are natural antimicrobial materials that have intrinsic properties to destroy a wide range of microorganisms.
An abundance of studies has been published regarding copper’ s efficacy to destroy, among others, E. coli, staphylococcus aureus( MRSA), staphylococcus, influenza A virus, adenovirus, and fungi. Apart from the health industry, antimicrobial surfaces in the US have been used for their ability to keep surfaces clean. Either the physical nature of the surface or the chemical composition can be manipulated to create an environment that cannot be inhabited by microorganisms for a variety of different reasons.
Antimicrobial touch surfaces include all the various kind of surfaces, such as door knobs, railings, tray tables, tables, toilets, sinks, basins and more recently, taps and mixers, within the medical fraternity in South Africa.
Antimicrobial copper alloy touch surfaces are surfaces that are made from metal copper and alloys of copper, such as brass and bronze. Copper and copper alloys have a natural ability to kill harmful microbes relatively rapidly— often within two hours or less.
Clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of copper alloys to reduce the incidence of nosocomial infections are ongoing at hospitals and clinics in the UK, Chile, Japan, South Africa, and the US.
BENEFITS OF COPPER Human health The human body does not manufacture copper, so it needs to be obtained from food and water. Generally, the concentration of copper in food can be up to 2mg / kg in red and organ meats, fish, nuts, chocolate, and green vegetables.
Too little copper in food can be of concern. Serious diseases, ranging from blood and vessel abnormalities to abnormal bone formations and irregular pigmentation of the skin, may be attributed to copper deficiency. Copper deficiency is a risk factor for osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and heart disease. Even a mild deficiency can lower the immune system, resulting in frequent colds and flu, loss of skin tone, reproductive problems, and fatigue. It is important to understand the positive effects of copper on a human body and how copper helps the body.
Public health According to the World Health Organisation( WHO), hundreds of millions of patients are affected by health care-associated infections( HCAIs) worldwide each year, leading to significant mortality and financial losses for health systems.
Infections such as MRSA and E. coli are caused by microbes that thrive on objects people touch every day. Despite aggressive hand washing campaigns and routine cleaning and disinfection, infection rates remain very high and more needs to be done to lower the risk of acquiring an infection and improving patient safety.
Tackling the global threat of antibiotic-resistant organisms is a high priority for the WHO and the United Nations. Antimicrobial copper is the only solid-metal touch surface to have efficacy data independently verified through the US Environment Protection Agency( EPA) public health registration, which supports its claim to continuously kill more than 99.9 % of the bacteria that cause HCAI within two hours of contact. Three main characteristics make antimicrobial copper the most effective touch surface material: 1. Continuously kills microbes 2. Never wears out
• Continuous and ongoing antimicrobial action
• Remains effective even after repeated wet and dry
November 2017 Volume 23 I Number 9 www. plumbingafrica. co. za