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Antibiotic-resistant enzyme could lead to new superbugs
19 August 2010 Hospitals in London and Nottingham have treated patients infected with new superbugs, which are resistant to the most powerful 'last resort' antibiotics. Patients returning from the Indian subcontinent carried the carbepenem-resistant strains to the UK.
NDM-1 (New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamose) is a resistance-giving enzyme occurring in strains of bacteria like E. coli and Klebsiella pneumonia, and easily transferable to other species. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) warned of the dangers this could pose if such strains become endemic in NHS hospitals. Read more: Daily Mail article.
New TB drug in early research
24 March 2010 A compound which might be developed into a new drug to treat tuberculosis (TB) has been discovered by a UK team of researchers, the first breakthrough for Tuberculosis Drug Discovery UK (TBD-UK), a consortium led by the University of Strathclyde. Developed from an antibiotic, the compound will have to undergo further tests before it can be developed into a drug which can be tested on humans. Estimates for when it might be ready for general use vary, but it could be up to 10 years.
In the mean time, drug-resistant TB is an ongoing problem. IML's whole room, and upper-air UVGI treatment devices, are a significant tool for the control of airborne TB in hospitals.
Norfolk Ambulance Service has cleaned up its act
18 December 2009 Norfolk's ambulance service has been given a clean bill of health by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after it was criticised for its dirty vehicles. In October the East of England Ambulance Service launched an urgent and comprehensive review of its cleaning programme after vehicles were found to be dirty by CQC inspectors. CQC's report ordered improvements to prevent healthcare-associated infections such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile. Read more here.
In addition to training staff to do physical cleaning properly, they could have made more sure of a sterile environment by fitting IML in-ambulance UVGI units for decontamination. (As we report - studies show that cleaning alone is not enough.)
Community-acquired MRSA spreading to hospitals
24 November 2009 - According to a study in the December issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases, a potentially dangerous and rapidly spreading strain of MRSA (Community-associated MRSA or CA-MRSA) poses a much greater public health threat than was previously thought, new research shows.
The CA-MRSA strain of superbug can be picked up in fitness centres, schools, and other public places, and is increasing the already significant burden of HA-MRSA (hospital-associated MRSA) now it is spreading to hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Read the full article here
.Rapid evolution allows antibiotic resistance to develop fast
24 November 2009 - Canadian researchers have demonstrated that only a few minor mutations to the DNA of a superbug allow it to adapt rapidly to changes in its environment - and that includes, of course, antibiotics. Evolution is commonly imagined to take millions of years, but the research shows it can be a matter of months or years. Read the full article here.
IML's range of UVGI equipment is therefore bad news for superbugs, because the disruptive power of ultraviolet light, acting directly on DNA, cannot be resisted.
HD-01 success story presented at ICAAC Conference
12th October 2009 Researchers presented the HD-01 mobile room disinfactor as 'a novel, automated, efficient environmental disinfection technology that significantly reduces C. difficile, VRE and MRSA contamination'.
The 49th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) heard that researchers used a mobile, automated UV device (HD-01)to decontaminate hospital rooms at the Cleveland Veterans' Affairs (VA) Medical Center in Ohio and analysed its ability to remove troublesome bacteria, including C. difficile spores. You can read more details of the results in our findings section.
ASHRAE recommends UVGI as an infection control measure
8th October 2009 The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has released a document entitled Airborne Infectious Diseases 
. This says that "Airborne infectious disease transmission can be reduced using dilution ventilation, specific in-room flow regimes, room pressure differentials, personalized and source capture ventilation, filtration and UVGI." Then, it continues with a discussion of the three main methods of ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI), namely continuous upper-room air disinfection, disinfection within air-conditioning ducts, and whole-room disinfection between patients. (All of which we include in our product range). ASHRAE believes that engineers play a key role in reducing disease transmission in buildings, and recommends that high-priority research into UVGI should continue.
HD01 - as seen on TV
September 25th 2009 A short video showing HD01* in action in a Los Angeles hospital operating theatre has been broadcast on US TV. You can view it using the player below, or click this link to go to YouTube.
( * Called TRU-D in the USA)
Infection control hampered by shortage of sterilising engineers
28th August 2009 The Sunday Herald reports that a hospital decontamination unit could lose quality assurance accreditation without hiring more specialist engineers to service the equipment. National Services Scotland (NSS) was recently told that the lack of authorised decontamination engineers could be a threat to patient safety.
IML's range of UVGI equipment does not require specialists to operate it, just sensible people who are willing to undergo a short training in the safe and effective use of the room and air sterilisers.