Copper door handles and taps kill 95% of superbugs in hospitals By Fiona Macra

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Copper door handles and taps kill 95% of superbugs in hospitals

By Fiona Macrae

_http://www.dailymai l.co.uk/health/ article-1081359/ Copper-door-

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ll-95-superbugs- hospitals. html_

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handles-taps- kill-95-superbug s-hospitals. html)

 

Making door handles, taps and light switches from copper could help

the

country beat superbugs, scientists say.

A study found that copper fittings rapidly killed bugs on hospital

wards,

succeeding where other infection control measures failed.

In the trial at Selly Oak hospital, in Birmingham, copper taps,

toilet seats

and push plates on doors all but eliminated common bugs.

It is thought the metal 'suffocates' germs, preventing them

breathing. It

may also stop them from feeding and destroy their DNA.

Lab tests show that the metal kills off the deadly MRSA and C

difficile

superbugs.

It also kills other dangerous germs, including the flu virus and the

E coli

food poisoning bug.

Although the number of cases of MRSA and C difficile is falling, the

two

bugs still claim thousands of lives a year.

During the ten-week trial on a medical ward, a set of taps, a

lavatory seat

and a push plate on an entrance door were replaced with copper

versions. They

were swabbed twice a day for bugs and the results compared with a

traditional tap, lavatory seat and push plate elsewhere in the ward.

The copper items had up to 95 per cent fewer bugs on their surface

whenever

they were tested, a U.S. conference on antibiotics heard yesterday.

Professor Tom Elliott, the lead researcher and a consultant

microbiologist

at the hospital, said: 'The findings of 90 to 95 per cent killing of

those

organisms, even after a busy day on a medical ward with items being

touched by

numerous people, is remarkable.

'I have been a consultant microbiologist for several decades. This is

the

first time I have seen anything like copper in terms of the effect it

will have

in the environment.

'It may well offer us another mechanism for trying to defeat the

spread of

infection.'

Researcher Professor Peter Lambert, of Aston University, Birmingham,

said:

'The numbers decreased always on copper but not on the steel

surfaces.'

If further hospital-based trials prove as successful, the researchers

would

like copper fixtures and fittings installed in hospitals around the

country.

Doorknobs, taps, light switches, toilet seats and handles and

bathroom 'grab

rails' could all be ripped out and replaced with copper versions.

 

Although it is usually thought to be an expensive metal, copper is

actually

a similar price to stainless steel, the researchers said. Nursing

homes and

even our houses could also benefit from the metal's ability to wipe

out

dangerous bugs.

The healing power of copper has been recognised for thousands of

years.

More than 4,000 years ago, the Egyptians used it to sterilise wounds

and

drinking water and the Aztecs treated skin conditions with the metal.

The ancient Greeks also knew of its benefits. Hippocrates, sometimes

called

'the father of medicine', noted that it could be used to treat leg

ulcers.

Today, copper is a common constituent in medicines including

antiseptic and

antifungal creams. It is also believed to have anti-inflammatory

properties.

Many of those with arthritis wear copper bangles.

Although they provide relief to many, there is no scientific evidence

that

they work.

Copper is present in our diet in trace amounts and plays an important

role

in the formation of red blood cells and in keeping our blood vessels,

nerves

and bones healthy.

The research was funded by the copper industry.

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