Hand Hygiene Cannot Replace Surface Disinfection:
The Bio-Intervention Disinfection Service
Saving Clean Hands from Touching Dirty
Surfaces
The Bio-Intervention Disinfection Service comprehensively disinfects
surfaces using a new-to-market, highly effective, and Category IV
disinfectant called Electro-BioCide.
By thoroughly disinfecting all surfaces in the hospital environment,
Bio-Intervention Specialists (Bio-IS) strives to reduce the risk of clean
hands touching dirty surfaces.
A Contaminated Environment Limits Benefits of Hand Hygiene
While hand hygiene is an essential cornerstone of infection control, industry experts have recently
recognized the importance of environmental surface disinfection. Dr. Betsy McCaughey, Chairman
of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths, describes the situation thusly: “As long as surfaces in
hospitals are inadequately cleaned, caregivers’ hands will become re-contaminated seconds after
they are washed.”
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The methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) “How-To-Guide”, by the Institute for
Healthcare Improvement, states that “even casual contact with the patient’s immediate
environment may contaminate the caregivers’ hands.”
2
50% of Healthcare Workers Don’t Wash Their Hands
Multiple studies have found that healthcare workers’ compliance with hand hygiene hovers around
50%.
A study published in the American Journal of Infection Control (2010) reveals that even in the rooms
of infected patients on contact precautions, average compliance with hand hygiene is 51.7% in the
surgical ICU and 45.1% in the medical ICU.
3
Patients “Shed” Into Their Immediate Environments
The dirty truth is that infected or colonized patients often contaminate their immediate
environments. In a 2009 study assessing mice carrying Clostridium difficile (C. diff) – a spore-forming
gram-positive bacterium – researchers found that when administered certain antibiotics, C. diff
carriers turned into “supershedders”, producing a staggering 100 million spores per gram of feces.
4
Similarly, a study published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology by Boyce et. al reported
that at least 73% of MRSA-infected patient rooms were contaminated, while 69% of MRSA-carrier
patient rooms became contaminated.
5
On average,
between 42%
and 52% of
healthcare
workers
contaminate
their gloves
from touching
just hospital
surfaces, not the
patient.
800-699-4230 ● info@bio-intervention.com ● www.bio-intervention.com
© 2010 Bio-Intervention Specialists™
For a complete list of references, please visit our website at
www.bio-intervention.com
.
Deadly Pathogens Survive on Surfaces for Months or Even Years
A review article published by Kramer et al. in BMC Infectious Diseases (2006) reveals that pathogens can survive in the environment
for extended periods of time.
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Inadequate surface disinfection allows these pathogens to persist on environmental surfaces, making
the environment an important reservoir of infection and allowing for the continual recontamination of healthcare workers’ hands.
Hands Often Become Contaminated from Touching Just the Environment, Not the Patient
In a study presented at the Fifth Decennial International Conference on Healthcare-Associated Infections (2010), Steifel et al. found
that healthcare workers’ gloves were just as likely to become contaminated from touching an environmental surface in a MRSA-
colonized patient’s room as from touching commonly examined skin sites (chest, abdomen, hands, forearm).
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The risk of hand
contamination was 45% after touching just the environment and only 40% after touching just the patient.
Other studies have demonstrated the role of the environment in hand contamination:
Boyce, et al. (1997): Found that 42% of nurses’ gloves became contaminated from just touching environmental surfaces in
MRSA patients’ rooms, not the patient.
5
Hayden, et al. (2008): Found that 52% of healthcare workers’ gloves became contaminated from just touching environmental
surfaces, not the patient.
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The study also found that, on average, healthcare workers who touched only the environment, and
not the patient, made contact with surfaces 5.1 times. Those healthcare workers that touched only the environment were also
significantly less likely to wear gloves. Notably, every healthcare worker observed touched both the patient and environmental
surfaces.
The Bio-Intervention Disinfection Service: A Revolution in Surface Disinfection
With low levels of hand hygiene compliance and high levels of environmental contamination, a focus on environmental surface
disinfection is needed if we are to stem the spread of infection. Bio-Intervention Specialists offers a revolutionary process for hard-
surface disinfection — the combination of a highly effective disinfectant and a customizable disinfection service:
Electro-BioCide™ is the first to market Category IV “practically non-toxic” and environmentally friendly disinfectant to achieve a
99.9999% (6-log) kill against a broad-spectrum of pathogenic organisms. These include MRSA, VRE, Pseudomonas aeruginosa,
H1N1, Rhinovirus, Hepatitis A, Staphylococcus aureus, .Salmonella enterica, and HIV-1. EPA-registered as a hospital
disinfectant, Electro-BioCide™ represents a true breakthrough in disinfection technology.
The Bio-Intervention Disinfection Service is a disinfection service performed by teams of certified, highly trained professionals.
Using a unique and highly efficient electrostatic spraying system, our teams deploy Electro-BioCide™ throughout the hospital
environment. The sprayer electrically charges the molecules to provide thorough and consistent coverage of environmental
surfaces, greatly minimizing the risk of human error associated with traditional cleaning methods. An EPA-registered UV tracer
can be included in the application for quality checks.
PATHOGEN
LENGTH OF SURVIVAL ON SURFACES
Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA)
7 days to 7 months
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Clostridium difficile (C. diff) Spore
5 months
6
or Possibly years
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Vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE)
5 days to 4 months
6
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
6 hours to 16 months
6
Acinetobacter baumanni
3 days to 5 months
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