Health, safety, environment and quality
C
opper is inherently antimicrobial with proven rapid, broad
spectrum efficacy against pathogens threatening public health
in both hospitals and the wider community. Recent clinical
trials around the world have confirmed the benefit of deploying
touch surfaces made from antimicrobial copper to reduce microbial
contamination and lower the risk of acquiring infections, as well as
improving patient outcomes and saving costs. A new cost benefit
model developed by the York Health Economics Consortium allows
hospital managers to assess the return on investment of a copper
installation, based on the cost difference between copper and stand-
ard components, and the savings from reduced infection rates. For
example, on a new build, 20-bed intensive care unit in the United
Kingdom (UK), payback was yielded in less than two months.
Copper and more than 450 copper alloys that benefit from
copper’s inherent antimicrobial efficacy, collectively referred to as
antimicrobial copper, have been granted a registration by the US En-
vironmental Protection Agency (EPA), permitting them to bemarketed
in the United States (US) with public health claims. The resultant use
of antimicrobial copper surfaces in hospitals has become a global
phenomenon, with manufacturers responding to demand by offering
a wide range of antimicrobial copper products, taking advantage of the
versatility of copper alloys to provide different colours and finishes.
Antimicrobial copper applications
Antimicrobial copper can be harnessed in a wide range of applica-
tions where hygiene is important, such as touch surfaces, food
preparation areas, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC)
systems, and lighting.
Touch surfaces
In recent years, it has been reported that 80% of all infections are
spread by touch, and a contaminated hand can infect the next seven
surfaces it touches. Hospitals, in particular, faced with the problem
of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs), are looking more closely
at the role of the facility’s environment in the spread of these infec-
tions as hand washing campaigns alone have failed to control the
problem. With antimicrobial surfaces, disease causing pathogens such
as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), Clostridium
difficile or C difficile (a bacterium that can cause symptoms rang-
ing from diarrhoea to life-threatening inflammation of the colon),
Influenza A (H1N1 or Swine ‘Flu) and Norovirus (highly contagious
stomach bug), are rapidly and continuously eliminated, as research
has shown that antimicrobial copper surfaces harbour 95 to 99%
less microbial contamination than equivalent non-copper surfaces.
Antimicrobial copper offers a new approach, a new way of think-
ing: employing an engineering material with intrinsic antimicrobial
properties to help protect public health.
When used to supplement standard hygiene practices, such as
hand washing, cleaning and disinfection, copper reduces contamina-
tion and the risk of infection dramatically. In hospitals, clinicians have
identified medical equipment (such as taps, bed rails, drip poles and
stethoscopes), furniture (including chairs, overbed tables, bedside
cabinets) and fixtures and fittings (for example taps, door handles
and light switches) as high risk touch surfaces.
Additionally, a recent study has shown that copper surfaces in
an intensive care unit (ICU) have also lowered contamination on
adjacent surfaces due to a 'halo effect'. Results from a clinical trial at
the Aghia Sofia Children’s Hospital in Greece showed that, in addi-
tion to contamination being 90% lower on the copper surfaces, they
exerted a halo effect whereby non-copper surfaces up to 50 cm away
exhibited a more than 70% reduction in contamination, as compared
to surfaces not in the copper’s proximity.
Food processing and preparation
The incidence of food-borne infections and high spoilage rates sug-
gests that current measures are not always effective in minimising
contamination of the world’s food supplies. Hygienic surfaces, made
Copper and copper alloys for
the healthcare sector
By E Swanepoel, Copper Development Association Africa
Today, designers and architects have a key role to play in designing infection out of our hospitals and public spaces, and now they have a new
ally: Copper. Healthcare facilities are high traffic environments, as they not only house patients, doctors, nurses and administration staff, but
they also host patients’ families and many visitors. This number of people can pose a significant risk of cross contamination and infections.
However, any antimicrobial copper items will continuously reduce surface contamination, 24/7 and in-between cleans, essentially augmenting
existing sanitation procedures.
Electricity+Control
July ‘13
36
