This paper describes a pilot study undertaken in a major acute trust investigating reduction of bacterial contamination in a healthcare environment attributable to the use of silver antimicrobial (BioCote®) technology. The four month study assessed the impact of various BioCote®-treated products on the counts of viable bacteria cultured from the treated environment compared to a control. A mean reduction in bacterial counts of 95.8% was demonstrated on the BioCote®treated surfaces compared with untreated surfaces. A mean reduction of 43.5% was demonstrated on untreated products positioned in the same environment as BioCote®-treated products compared with control untreated products. This suggests decontamination is not limited to treated materials but can extend to the wider environment because of the presence of antimicrobial materials. In the light of increasing evidence implicating the role of the environment in healthcare acquired infection, the potential of BioCote®-treated products to provide an additional infection control mechanism is highlighted.
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