Study Shows Copper Surfaces Kill C. Diff Bacteria

Copper May Offer Options for Hospital Hygiene

NEW YORK, June 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Scientists in the Environmental
Healthcare Unit at the University of Southampton in the U.K. have found that
infectious bacterium Clostridium difficile is killed when exposed to surfaces
made of copper and its alloys, brass and bronze. The results of the study have
been published in the February 2008 issue of the Journal of Hospital
Infection.
C. difficile is a leading cause of hospital infection in both the U.K. and
the United States. The spores can live in the environment for a long time and
are resistant to a range of disinfectants, including alcohol gel, which is
recommended for routine use in hospitals.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently approved the
registration of antimicrobial copper alloys, with public health claims
acknowledging that copper, brass and bronze are capable of killing harmful,
potentially deadly bacteria. C. difficile is not part of this registration.
The bacteria species listed in the EPA registration are: Staphylococcus
aureus; Enterobacter aerogenes; Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli);
Pseudomonas aeruginosa; and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA), one of the most virulent strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and
a common cause of hospital- and community-acquired infections.
Copper is the first solid surface material to receive this type of EPA
registration, which is supported by extensive antimicrobial efficacy testing.
Bill Keevil, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Southampton and the
lead researcher on the study, says the new findings are particularly
significant, "We've already shown that copper surfaces can inactivate MRSA
microbes. The fact that we've now established that copper also inactivates C.
difficile spores, which are resistant to standard cleaning regimes, doubles
our conviction that copper can play a significant role in killing those
bacteria that cause hospital infections."
The Copper Development Association is the information, education, market
and technical development arm of the copper, brass and bronze industries in
the USA. CDA is affiliated with the International Copper Association, LTD.
SOURCE The Copper Development Association

Danielle McAuley, +1-212-251-7209, dmcauley@cda.copper.org