British researchers have developed gowns impregnated with copper nanoparticles to fight against the spread of nosocomial infections in hospitals.
Whether viral or bacterial, nosocomial infections (infections that are absent on admission to hospital and develop within 48 hours) represent a recurring public health problem. As explained Inserm, “eApproximately 5% of patients who stay in hospital acquire an infection within the facility. The risk varies according to the patient’s profile, the level of hygiene or the care practiced. The responsible germs most often originate from the patient himself, but they are transported to the infectious site via personnel or medical devices “.
Researchers at the University of Manchester, in collaboration with Chinese universities, have designed a “durable and washable” composite material from antibacterial copper nanoparticles. They then developed a way to incorporate it into wearable materials like cotton and polyester.
In the United Kingdom, nosocomial infections represent this year a cost of 2.3 billion pounds (2.59 billion €), E.Coli infections alone being responsible for the death of 5,500 patients in the NHS in 2015 .
A copper blouse
One solution is to use precious metals like gold and silver which both have excellent antibacterial properties. However, their commercial use turns out to be restricted due to their very high cost. Therefore, copper, exhibiting similar antibacterial properties at a significantly lower cost, is the ideal candidate material. British researchers have therefore developed a process called “Polymer Surface Grafting” allowing copper nanoparticles to be integrated into cotton and polyester by creating a strong chemical bond. The garment thus produced has excellent washing properties and durability: it is resistant to Staphylococcus aureus and E. Coli even after being washed 30 times. This new technology represents considerable potential for modern medical applications.
The development of this concept is in line with the equipment in valves, handles and ramps made of copper in two departments of the Rambouillet hospital in 2014 during a pioneering experiment in France aimed at studying the impact of of this type of antibacterial equipment on the number of nosocomial infections. Companies are already showing an interest in developing it. The researchers hope to be able to commercialize it within a few years, currently working to reduce costs and simplify the process.
Nosocomial infections in France
In France, three national surveys of the prevalence of nosocomial infections were carried out in 1996, 2001 and 2006. In the last, 2,337 health establishments, representing 95% of hospital beds and 358,467 patients were included. On the day of the 2006 survey, 17,820 patients were infected, ie a prevalence of 4.97%.
Between 2001 and 2006, the prevalence of infected patients decreased by 12% and that of those infected with staphylococcus aureus resistant to methicillin (bacteria multi-resistant to antibiotics) by 40%. France in 2006 was within the lower limits of European results, where it varied between 4.9% and 8.5% (7.2% in Switzerland in 2004, 9% in Finland in 2005).
According to a study by the National Institute for Public Health Surveillance dating from 2012, nosocomial infections are the direct cause of 4,000 deaths each year and 750,000 infections.
Urinary tract infections are the most frequent (30%), followed by pneumonia (16.7%), surgical site infections (13.5%) and bacteremia / septicemia (10.1%).
In addition, three bacteria are at the origin of more than half of the cases of nosocomial infections:
* Escherichia coli (26%)
* Staphylococcus aureus (16%)
* Pseudomonas aeruginosa (8.4%)
.
