Copper Shown to Be Effective Germicide in Hospital Setting

Copper Shown to Be Effective Germicide in Hospital Setting:

"A study at the Selly Oak Hospital at the University of Birmingham, England has shown that copper surfaces effectively reduce the presence of contagious pathogens that land on them during normal hospital operations.

From the statement issued by University Hospitals Birmingham:

The study found that, when tested, items made from copper had up to 95 per cent fewer micro-organisms on them, compared with the same items made out of standard materials such as stainless steel.
The study, begun in March last year, was led by Professor Tom Elliott, a Consultant Microbiologist and Deputy Medical Director at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Selly Oak Hospital.

He said: ‘What this must mean is that the risk of picking up an infection is reduced, because we know that one of the vehicles where organisms can spread from one surface to another is by touching them. So the results are very exciting.

‘The findings of a 90 to 95 per cent killing of those organisms, even after a busy day on a medical ward with items being touched by numerous people, is remarkable. So it may well offer us another mechanism for trying to defeat the spread of infection.’

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