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VA TO BE PART OF TEST ON ANTIMICROBIAL
PROPERTIES
OF COPPER METALS -- The touch surfaces study
will employ
a series of three clinical trials to determine
how well
natural copper, brass and bronze surfaces
mitigate infectious microbes.
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Story here...
http://www.earthtimes.org/
articles/show/news_press_
release,151161.shtml
Story below:
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Federal Funding Awarded to Test Antimicrobial
Properties of Copper Metals
NEW YORK, PRNewswire/ -- Congressionally appropriated funds to determine
the antimicrobial effectiveness of copper, brass and bronze have been
awarded to the Copper Development Association, announced CDA President
Andrew G. Kireta Sr.
One study will focus on the ability of copper metals to kill deadly
pathogens on touch surfaces in hospital facilities in New York City and
Charleston, South Carolina. The other will focus on the effectiveness of
copper components in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems
at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina; Fort Gordon, in Augusta,
Georgia; and the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The studies will be carried out for the U.S. Department of Defense under
the aegis of the Telemedicine and Advanced Technologies Research Center
(TATRC), a section of the Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC),
and implemented by Advanced Technology Institute (ATI).
Recent peer-reviewed research conducted at the University of Southampton
in the U.K. proves copper, brass and bronze can quickly and efficiently
eradicate several different pathogens which are the source of many
hospital- acquired infections, including methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Escherichia coli O157:H7. The U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that
infections acquired in U.S. hospitals affect some two million
individuals every year, resulting in nearly 100,000 deaths annually and
costing $30 billion.
Microbial growth on common touch surfaces is of increasing concern to
healthcare facilities. According to Dr. Harold Michels, vice president
of Technical and Information Services for CDA and the studies' principal
investigator, "A positive outcome to these studies will provide
hospitals with solid information on an additional method of combating
increasing infection rates and controlling virulent,
antibiotic-resistant pathogens, such as MRSA, within their environment."
The touch surfaces study will employ a series of three clinical trials
to determine how well natural copper, brass and bronze surfaces mitigate
infectious microbes, decrease cross-contamination and ultimately help
reduce the incidence of hospital-acquired infections in patients. Rates
of infection will be measured using three indicator organisms: MRSA,
vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE) and Acinetobacter baumannii, of
particular concern since the beginning of the Iraq War. The surfaces
involved in the study are typically made of stainless steel or plastic,
which have little or no effect in controlling pathogens.
The studies will be conducted at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
in New York City, the Medical University of South Carolina and the Ralph
H. Johnson VA Medial Center, both in Charleston, South Carolina.
Previous studies were conducted by ATS Labs in Eagan, Minnesota, under
test protocols established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
They show solid copper alloys are more than 99.9% effective on five
pathogens commonly found in healthcare facilities. The tests have been
submitted to EPA as part of a registration process to secure approval
for making human health claims for the copper metals.
A congressionally funded companion study will compare copper air-
conditioning system components, including cooling coils, heat exchange
fins and drip pans, with components made of aluminum as to their ability
to control the growth of harmful bacteria and fungi. The trials are
designed to demonstrate the effectiveness of copper surfaces in reducing
the colonization of HVAC systems by harmful microbes and reducing
exposure to these organisms throughout the buildings served by the
systems.
Laboratory studies are taking place at the University of South Carolina
in the Arnold School of Public Health. Field trials will be performed at
the Moncrief Army Community Hospital and barracks at Fort Jackson, the
D.D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center at Fort Gordon and the United States
Air Force Academy. Michels says, "The results of these real-world trials
should encourage a leap forward in the design of HVAC systems and make a
major contribution to the reduction of Sick Building Syndrome and the
improvement of indoor air quality."
The Copper Development Association is the information, education, market
and technical development arm of the copper, brass and bronze industries
in the USA. Copper Development Association
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Larry Scott --
