A bright blue light has become the latest tool in the fight against infection for a hospital in South Carolina, USA.

The Regional Medical Center of Orangeburg & Calhoun Counties is the first hospital in South Carolina to acquire a Total Room Ultraviolet Disinfector (Tru-D).

It is used in conjunction with regular cleaning practices and essential hygiene habits such as washing hands with soap from soap dispensers and drying with paper towels from hand towel dispensers.

Officials say it adds another layer of protection in patient rooms and operating suites against multi-drug resistant germs.

“We want our patients to have the safest health care we can provide,” said Dr. John Samies, infectious diseases specialist and chairman of RMC’s Infection Control Committee.

“This high-powered ultraviolet light has moved cleaning of rooms and equipment to a higher level than we have been able to achieve before.”

Tru-D works by giving off ultraviolet-C energy, which kills bacterial pathogens and viruses that may be airborne or on surfaces.

This in turn can reduce patients’ risk of developing health-care-acquired infection.

Health care, schools and public facilities are at the forefront of the battle against environmental pathogens, which have become increasingly resistant to many antibiotics as well as to the chemicals used in the disinfection process.

“Tru-D is environmentally friendly, using no chemicals, while killing germs in the hospital,” Samies said.

RMC environmental services director, Henry Miller, said rooms are first cleaned in the traditional way; this is not a substitute for not using soap from a soap dispenser and drying with towels from a hand towel dispenser. Then the device is placed inside.

“The equipment’s sophisticated technology prevents anyone from being harmed by the bright blue light. Tru-D is able to check the room and determine how long it takes to get the job done. Then Tru-D goes to work killing germs,” he said.

As the economic outlook grows more doom and gloom with each passing day and also the chance of a double dip recession, experts warn that buyers need to steer clear of ’shark’ suppliers.

Industry players that purchase plastic refuse sacks, industrial cotton mops and paper products such as paper towels for towel dispensers and soap for soap dispensers, are being warned by the Cleaning & Hygiene Suppliers Association (CHSA) that they need to increase their monitoring for shark suppliers.

Gordon Butt, the CHSA’s auditor for its Manufacturing Standard Accreditation Scheme, explained: “As the economic uncertainty continues we are seeing an increase in the cutting of corners by disreputable suppliers of cleaning and hygiene products and it is distributors and end users who are being affected.

“We randomly and regularly audit both members and non-members of the scheme and we have seen a jump in the number and extent of deficiencies amongst non-members.

“Some net deficiencies caused by, for example, reducing the number of sheets or shaving a little of the width or length of each sheet of a paper product are running as high as 20 per cent.

“This is the equivalent to a distributor or end user buying five boxes of product and only getting four; it’s clearly unethical and could be an offence if the dimensions are on the label and the labelling does not reflect the reduction.

“But there is no legal requirement to label the dimensions of the product and some suppliers are exploiting this and being vague with the labelling.

“If they tell you the number of sheets but not the dimensions of each sheet then you have no way of knowing if something you have always understood to be one size has suddenly ‘shrunk’.”

One way to avoid falling into this trap, especially when purchasing paper towels for a paper towel dispenser and soap for soap dispensers, is to buy from Manufacturing Standard Accreditation Scheme members.

“We regularly audit our members and deficiencies will ultimately result in expulsion from the Scheme,” said Graham Fletcher, general secretary of the CHSA.

“This means buyers can be certain they are getting what they pay for, even when times are tough.

“Anyone concerned about the quality of their purchase can call us for a free audit. Gordon will come out and thoroughly check the products, either giving you the ammunition you need or putting your mind to rest.”

Areas the scheme guarantees include: consistency of supply; accurate labelling; and fully audited manufacturers.

The British Cleaning Council has urged healthcare managers to focus on hygiene after an outbreak of noro-virus hit hospitals across the UK, severely restricting patient care and hospital efficiency.

Startlingly hundreds of beds throughout the country were made unavailable as wards were closed and visitor numbers limited. Hospitals were forced to isolate patients infected by the virus.

Noro-virus, also known as the winter vomiting bug, is extremely contagious and can be lethal to the elderly, very young or very sick patients. The condition causes nausea, vomiting and diarrhea with the symptoms beginning about 12 to 48 hours after infection and usually lasting between 12 and 60 hours.

At high-risk public places such as hospitals, the spread of the infection is simple. One way to curb the transfer is to use proper hygiene procedures, including washing hands thoroughly with antibacterial soap from the soap dispensers and drying hands completely either with an automatic hand dryer or paper towels from a towel dispenser.

Mark Woodhead, Chairman of the British Cleaning Council, emphasised the importance of updating cleaning regimes and hand hygiene in combating the spread of infections.

He said: “When the risk of infection is high, it is vital that best practice is followed for hygiene, with rigorous cleaning regimes focusing on touch points and other areas at risk of contamination.

“In addition to this, if you are due to enter a hospital environment it is recommended that hands are washed regularly and thoroughly, while everyone should avoid visiting friends or relatives until they have fully recovered.”

The main focus on hospital cleaning is disinfection and stopping the spread of pathogens, using mopping systems and other janitorial items.

On almost every wall in the toilets there are signs saying ‘Wash Hands’ and antibacterial soap dispensers everywhere you look.

But there are other dangers lurking in patients’ rooms.

An infectious disease expert at Queen’s University helped develop a disinfection system that can stop bed bug outbreaks as well as change the way hospital rooms all over the world are cleaned.

The new technology involves pumping a Medizone-specific ozone and hydrogen peroxide vapour gas mixture into a room to completely sterilise everything - including floors, walls, drapes, mattresses, chairs and other surfaces. Scientists believe it is far more effective in killing bacteria than wiping down a room.

Dr. Zoutman worked with Dr. Michael Shannon of Medizone International to create the product, which is also used to kill bed bugs.

A major U.S. hotel chain has already expressed interest in the technology because of its potential to save the company millions of dollars in lost revenue and infected furniture.

Dr. Zoutman said the technique is similar to what Mother Nature uses to kill bacteria in humans.

“It works well for Mother Nature and is working very well for us,” said Dr. Zoutman

Although there are other disinfecting technologies that involve pumping gas into a room, Medizone’s method is the only one that sterilises as well as surgical instrument cleaning.

It leaves a pleasant smell and doesn’t affect any medical equipment in the room. The entire disinfection process takes less than one hour. However it is still essential to use mopping systems and scrubber/dryers.

Dr. Zoutman says the technology is not limited to hospitals and could even be used in food preparation areas and processing plants after outbreaks.

Increasing advancements in technology are continually helping to fight the battle against infectious diseases.

Parents need to teach children how to wash their hands to a level that effectively removes germs.

With the winter colds and other bugs around at this time of year, parents could save themselves trips to the doctors if they teach their children the importance of sufficiently cleaning their hands.

Germs are everywhere, so children should be encouraged to regularly wash their hands using soap from a soap dispenser and drying them with a hand dryer to prevent themselves and others getting ill.

Germs can spread very easily especially in busy places such as schools, touching dirty hands, couching or other contaminated surfaces can all increase the spread of disease.

When one child spreads germs to another child, an entire family can end up with cold or flu symptoms.

Hand-washing regularly and effectively is the first line of defence against the spread of many germs that cause illnesses such as a simple cold to Meningitis and Hepatitis A.

Parents should instil the hand washing habit from young age; washing hands with the children will help them to learn.

Make sure the children use warm water, not too hot, and using soap wash their hands for 20 seconds including in between fingers and under their nails.

Wash the soap off and dry thoroughly with an air hand dryer if possible, or use hand towels from a hand towel dispenser.

To stop germs spreading in the home parents should get children to wash hands before eating, after using the bathroom, cleaning, touching pets and sneezing.