Superbugs ‘spread by hospital wet wipes’

Posted 08/06/2015

The NHS has been working hard to try to reduce the incidence of MRSA infections in hospitals in recent years with a reasonable amount of success. Now researchers at Cardiff University have claimed the use of wet wipes can spread hospital superbugs.

Scientists from the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science tested seven detergent wipes used in hospitals across the UK on three common infections. They showed “huge variability” in their ability to kill the disease-causing bacteria which in the case of MRSA can cause skin, blood, lung and heart infections. In every case, the wipes spread the superbugs from one surface to another.

The study, published in the American Journal of Infection Control, carried out a 10-second wiping procedure to test the wipes’ effectiveness on MRSA, Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) and Acinetobacter, which can all cause life-threatening illnesses.

They were very inconsistent in their ability to remove spores of the bacteria from hospital surfaces, and they all spread significant amounts of bacteria over three consecutive surfaces. Infection with Clostridium difficile bacteria can lead to life-threatening complications. In 2012, there were 1,646 deaths involving C difficile infection in England and Wales and 292 deaths related to MRSA.

Study author Prof Jean-Yves Maillard said: “Wet wipes are generally good products, but the efficacy of these products can be improved. Hospital staff must be educated to ensure these products are used properly and will not cause an unnecessary risk to staff and patients – a single wipe should not be used on multiple surfaces.”

Julie Crossley, a medical injury lawyer at Ashtons Legal comments: “This is a concerning piece of research but presumably the problem could be eradicated by the correct training for those using the wipes and ensuring that they are used appropriately thereby killing the germ rather than spreading it. This would help to reduce still further the incidence of these diseases, and the legal claims which quite often follow. We all rely on hospitals to cure our medical problems but when someone contracts an illness in hospital which was unrelated to the problem for which they initially sought medical help, this is a major cause for concern.”