96% reduction of bacteria in a school environment

Classrooms are an ideal environment for the spread of germs and bacteria, people are in close contact with each other for prolonged periods, communal surfaces are frequently touched by many students and cleaning is superficial.

Hygiene in these spaces is therefore important in order to reduce the risk
and consequences of cross-microbial contamination. Good hygiene practice will
without a doubt provide an efficient and thorough cleaning of an area. However,
developments in antimicrobial technology now offer the possibility to provide
materials for indoor spaces that will reduce levels of bacteria that contaminate
them, even in cases of less accurate cleaning procedures.


 


Ponte Giulio kills bacteria in schools


 


DESCRIPTION OF THE EXPERIMENT


 


In the Autumn of 2014, a medium sized elementary school in the United Kingdom
was selected for an environmental study. A classroom was refurbished with objects
and accessories that had been treated with BioCote antimicrobial technology.
A second room, included in the study, was used as a controlled environment.
The demographics of the two classrooms were adequately comparable and both were
used and cleaned normally. The typical daily hygiene practice of a classroom
included cleaning the desks, sinks and drip. The floor and carpet were cleaned
with a vacuum cleaner. In addition, a weekly intervention included cleaning
the computers, shelves and work surfaces and washing the non absorbent floors.
A weekly collection of samples, using swabs began in November and continued
for three weeks. Samples from antimicrobial accessories and surfaces were collected
from the antimicrobial room and simultaneously from the control room. The samples
were collected before the beginning and at the end of the school day and treated
appropriately in the microbiology laboratory to isolate, count and if possible
identify the bacteria - data not shown in this newsletter - taken from the classrooms
involved in the study. The products used for the study were donated by companies
that collaborate with BioCote Ltd.


 


RESULTS


 


A comparison of the average number of bacteria collected from all the items
treated with BioCote and all the corresponding products in the control room
revealed that levels of contamination were 96% lower in the antimicrobial classroom.


 


CONSIDERATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS


 


The two classrooms in the study were chosen for their similarities in terms
of use, location and demographics. The only difference between the two classrooms
was the presence of antimicrobial technology. It is reasonable to consider that
the lower number of bacteria counted on the antimicrobial products, compared
to the control room counterparts, is a direct result of the continuous antimicrobial
performance of these products. Products in the work place treated with BioCote
and having a lower bacterial count should in theory also be compared to equivalent
non treated products.


Previous environmental measurement studies of bacterial count on antimicrobial
surfaces have reported fewer contaminated surfaces than untreated counterparts.
Although antimicrobial technology should not be considered a substitute for
cleaning, the repeated observation of a decidedly lower number of bacteria present
on antimicrobial products, regardless of the type of product and the timing
of the observation, compared to the bacterial count in the controlled classroom,
presents a convincing case for the application of antimicrobial technology in
areas where hygiene is of great importance.


 


95.68% bacteria reduction


 


 


Table 1


Percentage reduction in the average colony count per product in the classroom
treated with Biocote, compared to the non treated classroom


 


 



























































































Product Reduction
Desk 87,73%
Window handle 34,78%
Water dispenser 96,79%
Wall paint 91,30%
Upholstery > 99,99%
Tray 97,22%
Rack 91,90%
Rack wheels 87,84%
Plug 86,24%
Soap dispenser 96,26%
Sink tiles 99,73%
Radiator cover 90,54%
Light switch 30,30%
Door handle 98,58%
Tray 52,38%
Chair 97,12%
Computer desk 92,65%
Computer chair 79,90%
Carpet 70,09%
Cable cover 99,90%
Shelf 97,43%