Antimicrobial Wipes May Spread MRSA -- by Tim Anderson

Tim Anderson is a Kansas City health writer with a background in health care administration.  He writes about medical research and advances, emerging treatments and technologies, and healthy lifestyle choices.  His blog, "The Medical Migrant" appears online each week on several national news sites.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there are 1.7 million hospital-acquired infections in American hospitals each year, resulting in close to 100,000 deaths.  Of particular concern are multidrug-resistant organisms, such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). 

Antimicrobial wipes have become a mainline defense in containing the spread of MRSA, but a new study casts doubt on their effectiveness.  Dr. Jean-Yves Maillard, a microbiologist with Cardiff University's Welsh School of Pharmacy, led a surveillance study of the routine use of antimicrobial wipes in hospital settings.  The findings were later replicated in the laboratory.

Maillard's team found the wipes often contribute to the spread of MRSA and other infectious organisms.  The problem, however, was more a matter of technique than of the wipes themselves.  Used correctly, the wipes can be very effective.

The spread of MRSA with antimicrobial wipes occurs because hospital staff used the wipes more than once on the same surface or on multiple surfaces.  The team found, despite claims by manufacturers, that the wipes do not actually "kill MRSA," but instead simply remove it from the surface.  Then, when hospital staff use the wipe on a second surface, they transfer the organism and it lives on.

But, there is good news.  Maillard and his team recommend a simple procedure, the "one wipe-one application per surface" approach.  The CDC, in Management of Multidrug-Resistant Organisms in Healthcare Settings, 2006, cites research that suggests a multi-faceted strategy to combat hospital-acquired infections: identify and reinforce training of environmental staff working in targeted patient areas; strictly monitor adherence to environmental cleaning policies; and, enhance consistency of adherence by assigning dedicated staff to clean targeted areas.

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