Shepherd, SJ, Beggs, CB, Smith, CF et al. (3 more authors) (2010) Effect of negative air ions on the potential for bacterial contamination of plastic medical equipment. BMC Infectious Diseases, 10 (92). ISSN 1471-2334
Abstract
In recent years there has been renewed interest in the use of air ionizers to control the spread of infection in hospitals and a number of researchers have investigated the biocidal action of ions in both air and nitrogen. By comparison, the physical action of air ions on bacterial dissemination and deposition has largely been ignored. However, there is clinical evidence that air ions might play an important role in preventing the transmission of Acinetobacter infection. Although the reasons for this are unclear, it is hypothesized that a physical effect may be responsible: the production of air ions may negatively charge items of plastic medical equipment so that they repel, rather than attract, airborne bacteria. By negatively charging both particles in the air and items of plastic equipment, the ionizers minimize electrostatic deposition on these items. In so doing they may help to interrupt the transmission of Acinetobacter infection in certain healthcare settings such as intensive care units.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2010 Shepherd et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | Acinetobacter, Air, Air Microbiology, Electricity, Equipment and Supplies, Humans, Infection Control, Ions, Plastics |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Civil Engineering (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Civil Engineering (Leeds) > Inst for Pathogen Control Engineering (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 21 Jul 2011 15:45 |
Last Modified: | 24 Oct 2016 22:25 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2334-10-92 |
Identification Number: | 10.1186/1471-2334-10-92 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:43161 |