Surface disinfection can help reduce spread of antibiotic-resistant organisms
It’s true that the prudent use of antibiotics can help slow the growth of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. In fact, that’s a central tenet of the Obama Administration’s recently published National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-resistant Bacteria. (See July 2015 Repertoire.)
But doctors’ prescribing habits aren’t the only factor that can help control antibiotic resistance. Infection prevention and hospital environmental services staff can play a role too, by properly cleaning and disinfecting hard surfaces in the hospital.
It’s a message that the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (APUA) and Clorox Healthcare intend to promote in a new educational partnership announced by the two organizations this fall.
“Education with a big ‘E’ is important,” says Stuart Levy, M.D., co-founder and president of the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics. “There are two sides to the coin. One is the prevention of disease by using [surface disinfectants]. The other is prevention of resistance by using these products appropriately. And I think that’s something [with which] our partnership can help.”
Founded in 1981, APUA has affiliated chapters in more than 65 countries. It conducts research, education and advocacy programs to control antimicrobial resistance and ensure access to effective antibiotics.
Prevention first
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that drug-resistant bacteria cause 2 million illnesses and approximately 23,000 deaths per year in the United States. The spread of drug-resistant infections and Clostridium difficile will increase without immediate improvements in infection control and antibiotic stewardship.
Because antibiotic-resistant pathogens are difficult to treat once a patient has been infected, the better course is to prevent their spread in the first place, says Laurie Rabens, senior product manager, Clorox Healthcare. An example is C. difficile.
“Though not in itself antibiotic-resistant, C. difficile has become a concern due to the overuse of antibiotics,” she says. “As a patient embarks on a course of antibiotics, the antibiotics kill many bacteria in the gut that are actually helpful, or at least not harmful, as well as the specific bacterium being targeted. In this kind of environment, C. difficile can grow out of control and lead to a potentially deadly infection.”
The infected person sheds C. difficile spores through his or her stool; if those spores get on his or her hands, then he or she touches a handle, doorknob, TV remote, table, etc., the bacteria can persist on those surfaces for weeks or even months. The next person who touches that surface, then puts his or her hands to her mouth, can become infected as well.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that almost 250,000 people each year require hospital care for C. difficile infections. At least 14,000 people in the United States die from such infections every year.
“That’s why thorough surface disinfection is so important,” says Rabens. “Disinfectants kill bacteria and spores quickly, and thus reduce the spread of bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant organisms.”
Clorox Healthcare and APUA will be publishing articles, sponsoring webinars and developing other educational materials about surface disinfection and antibiotic resistance in the coming months.