Study Shows Cleaning Agent Reduces MRSA by Half

MANCHESTER, England -- An antibacterial cleaning agent recently confirmed as a killer of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has now completed a successful six-month study at a leading NHS hospital which is widely regarded as the historic home of infection control.

Results from the independently supervised study using the patented biocide developed by Byotrol plc at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary showed that treatment of the high-contact surfaces such as door handles, patient contact systems, and bed rails, accounting for a small percentage of the total surfaces in a ward, resulted in a 75 percent reduction in MRSA throughout the ward where the trial was conducted against the pre-trial condition of the ward. And for several weeks of the study, MRSA was eliminated completely within the ward.

Furthermore, the number of hospital acquired cases of MRSA was seen to be 50 percent higher in the area of the ward where a conventional disinfectant was used compared to that where Byotrol was used. This was achieved as a result of Byotrols residual action on surfaces against microorganisms even after it has dried.

The deployment of Byotrol technology did not require any special equipment or extra resource and was incorporated into the hospitals existing cleaning routine.

The study was staged in two ward areas with vascular surgery at Glasgow Royal Infirmary which because of the nature of conditions and patients treated had a potential for high incidence of MRSA infection. One of the wards was cleaned with Byotrol and the other with existing cleaning agents.

Glasgow Royal Infirmary is widely regarded as the historic home of infection control and was the hospital where scientist and surgeon Joseph Lister pioneered use of antiseptics and disinfectants more than 140 years ago.

From figures published by the UK National Audit Office, it can be deduced that England has at least 60,000 cases of hospital-acquired Staphylococcal infections a year, costing an estimated £200 million. Between 2003-2004, the number of recorded MRSA-related deaths in the UK rose 22 percent.

The study was independently supervised by Curtis Gemmell, professor of bacterial infection and epidemiology at the University of Glasgow, who worked closely with the hospitals vascular surgery team. Gemmell is also a director of the Scottish MRSA Reference Laboratory and an advisor to Byotrol plc on the requirements of the NHS, particularly on issues such as antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria, hospital acquired infection and the epidemiology and control of infection in healthcare.

The results of the study were presented in full at the sixth international conference of the Hospital Infection Society in the Netherlands on October 16, 2006 by Gemmell to medical and infection control professionals.

According to Byotrols deputy chairman Stephen Falder, This independent study has demonstrated the outstanding effectiveness of Byotrol in a working hospital environment. Byotrol was used by the existing cleaning staff, with no risk or disturbance to patients or healthcare professionals and with no requirement for expensive equipment. The directors believe that the results of the study further pave the way for the company to achieve significant sales in the healthcare sector.