Superbug transmission can be cut by using chemicals, UV rays: study

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The spread of superbugs can be significantly reduced by using chemicals and UV light, according to a Duke Medicine study.

The study was carried out at nine hospitals, including three Duke University Health System hospitals, community healthcare centers and a Veterans Affairs hospital, from 2012 to 2014. The objective was to study how three cleaning methods can affect the spread of four drug-resistant superbugs: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), Acinetobacter and C. difficile.

The alarmingly increasing superbug, MRSA, cannot be killed by methicillin and antibiotics. According to the NIH, it can cause skin infections that can come in pimples or boils that can be painful. While most people can recover from MRSA infections, it can be life-threatening as it can sometimes lead to pneumonia or bloodstream infections.

According to EurekAlert, the three methods of cleaning in the study involved using "quat" or quaternary ammonium disinfectant. The first was one was using a quat and then used UV light on it, using bleach by itself on the room or using bleach and then using UV lights on the room. The most effective way to clean and sanitize the room even from superbugs was to use quats and use UV irradiating machine for 30 to 50 minutes.

The mentioned superbugs are said to be strong and can no longer be eradicated by using normal means of sanitation. This is why its transmission remains rampant even after surfaces and rooms have been "cleaned." The only way to get rid of these superbugs and prevent its spread was to upgrade current cleaning methods.

"Some of these germs are hardy and can live on the environment long enough 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," said Dr. Deverick Anderson, lead author and infectious disease specialist at Duke Medicine. "Several groups have demonstrated that enhanced cleaning strategies such as using portable UV machines can kill these germs, but this is the first well controlled study that shows these techniques can make meaningful difference in patient outcomes."

Dr. Anderson added that using UV light can kill these organisms because the "light disrupts the DNA of these germs" which in turn kills them off. Additionally, organisms can also be killed off whether they are in the shadows because the UV light's reflection can be enough to kill it as well.

Dr. John Jernigan from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention praised the study as it proves that environmental cleaning with UV light is feasible in infection prevention.

"The findings represent an important step forward in understanding the role the hospital environment plays in transmitting infection, but we still have a lot to learn about the impact this specific type of intervention will have for the entire population of hospitalized patients," Dr. Jernigan said, according to the report by Science Daily.