Can copper reduce hospital infections?

MUSC will participate in a study supported by congressionally appropriated funds to determine the antimicrobial effectiveness of copper, brass and bronze.

In one of two studies being performed in New York City and Charleston, researchers at MUSC will focus on the ability of copper metals to kill deadly pathogens on touch surfaces in hospital facilities. The other study will focus on the effectiveness of copper components in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems at Fort Jackson in Columbia; Fort Gordon in Augusta, Georgia.; and the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The studies will be carried out for the U.S. Department of Defence under the aegis of the Telemedicine and Advanced Technologies Research Centre (TATRC), a section of the Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC), and implemented by Advanced Technology Institute (ATI).

Michael G. Schmidt, M.A., Ph.D., professor and vice chair of Microbiology and Immunology, is lead investigator of the study being performed at MUSC. "We are hoping that the results of this study will strongly support that through the introduction of this inexpensive and passive solution into the health care setting, the incidence of hospital-acquired infections will decrease," he said.

Copper combats pathogens

Recent peer-reviewed research conducted at the University of Southampton in Great Britain proves copper, brass and bronze can quickly and efficiently eradicate several different pathogens that are the source of many hospital-acquired infections, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Escherichia coli O157:H7. The U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that infections acquired in U.S. hospitals affect some two million individuals every year, resulting in nearly 100,000 deaths annually and adding approximately US$30 billion to the US's overall health care costs.

The touch surfaces study will employ a series of three clinical trials to determine how well natural copper, brass and bronze surfaces mitigate infectious microbes, decrease cross-contamination and ultimately help reduce the incidence of hospital-acquired infections in patients. Rates of infection will be measured using three indicator organisms: MRSA, vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE) and Acinetobacter baumannii, of particular concern since the beginning of the Iraq War. The surfaces involved in the study are typically made of stainless steel or plastic, which have little or no effect in controlling pathogens.

Copper is key

Study centres include MUSC and the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medial Centre, both in Charleston, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York City. Previous studies were conducted by ATS Labs in Eagan, Minnesota, under test protocols established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. They show solid copper alloys are more than 99.9% effective on five pathogens commonly found in health care facilities. The tests have been submitted to EPA as part of a registration process to secure approval for making human health claims for the copper metals.

A congressionally funded companion study will compare copper air-conditioning system components, including cooling coils, heat exchange fins and drip pans, with components made of aluminium as to their ability to control the growth of harmful bacteria and fungi. The trials are designed to demonstrate the effectiveness of copper surfaces in reducing the colonization of HVAC systems by harmful microbes and reducing exposure to these organisms throughout the buildings served by the systems.

Laboratory studies are taking place at the University of South Carolina in the Arnold School of Public Health. Field trials will be performed at the Moncrief Army Community Hospital and barracks at Fort Jackson, the D.D. Eisenhower Army Medical Centre at Fort Gordon and the United States Air Force Academy.