from the editor
opinion
Excessive use can be to your detriment By Marietjie Swanepoel
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when microorganisms such as
Maintaining a new hand hygiene standard The COVID-19 pandemic has been a catalyst for improvements in hand hygiene and may have the added benefit of reducing healthcare-associated infections in future. Proper hand hygiene is the most costeffective measure to prevent the spread of disease and infections. Every year the Save Lives: Clean Your Hands global campaign aims to progress the goal of maintaining a global profile on the importance of hand hygiene and to congregate people in support of hand hygiene improvement around the world. Key to improving hand hygiene in your facility is to focus on top-of-mind awareness. With this in mind, the hand hygiene feature starting on page 9 offers an in-depth perspective on issues including the use of hand sanitisers, meeting elevated user expectations, handwashing technique and improving handwashing consciousness. On World Hand Hygiene Day 2021, celebrated on May 5, the World Health Organization (WHO) called on healthcare workers and facilities to achieve effective hand hygiene action at the point of care. Considering the mass rollout of COVID-19 vaccination campaigns, this call could not have been more relevant. Other features include a closer look at the use of dry steam across many industries to kill bacteria and viruses as well as insight of the facts about commercial floor cleaning. Finally, with the imminent 3rd wave of the coronavirus pandemic becoming a reality, remember to spread the ‘cleaning for health’ message to further bolster the importance of professional cleaning as an essential element of achieving a new hygiene standard. Enjoy the read.
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African Cleaning Review May/June 2020
bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites mutate in ways that render the medications used to cure the infections they cause, ineffective. When the microorganisms become resistant to most antimicrobials they are often referred to as “superbugs”. Inappropriate use and overuse of antibiotics are the primary driver of antibiotic resistant microorganisms.
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n order to understand the correlation between AMR and the indiscriminate use of disinfectants and sanitisers during the coronavirus pandemic it is important to offer an insight of the origins of AMR. And to explore how the fight against COVID-19 will impact on the further development of AMR.
Origin of “superbugs” It all started when British scientist Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in the 1920s which led to the start of the antibiotic era. By the 1940s pharmaceutical companies started production of penicillin for commercial purposes and it became widely accessible to the general public. However, the excitement about antibiotics was mitigated by a phenomenon called antibiotic resistance when healthcare professionals realised that in some cases penicillin was not effective against certain strains of Staphylococcus Aureus (bacteria that causes skin infections). Thus the first generation of “superbugs” was born.
Antimicrobial products to the rescue... Driven by the fear of “superbugs”, products flooded the market and consumers were bombarded with toothpaste, soaps, washing powder, dishwashing detergents and hand lotions: all containing antibacterial agents. People wanted to eliminate
these “superbugs” from their surroundings at all cost. The US Centres For Disease Control (CDC) issued a warning that no additional health benefits has been proved when using anti-bacterial products. In fact, the CDC urged the general public to use these products responsibly, as overuse can alter a persons’ natural microflora and it could even negatively influence immune systems. With the above in mind, there is general concern that the overuse and inappropriate use of disinfectants and sanitisers during the coronavirus pandemic could lead to an increase in the number of anti-microbial resistant species we encounter. There are further concerns that the high release of biocides and antibiotics used during the pandemic could have a negative impact on the environment. This includes an impact on wastewater, surface waters, soils and sediments. A practical example is the fact that China reportedly dispensed at least 2000 tons of disinfectants throughout the city of Wuhan from the outbreak of the pandemic until March 2020. Can the impact of this drastic action be imagined? Misinformation and a lack of understanding of virus vulnerability to cleaning processes spiked peoples fear for the unseen. Disinfectant tunnels, fogging and substandard disinfectants and sanitisers flooded the market. The CDC once again had to issue urgent warnings to protect vulnerable
