Hospital Infection Control Procedures Effective At Preventing Coronovirus for Patients, Staff: Study

Hospitals and the public can effectively reduce the spread of coronavirus through common sense cleaning practices and frequent washing of hands with soap and water, according to the findings of a new study.

Wiping down surfaces with disinfectant, washing hands, and using protective gloves and surgical masks helped to prevent hospital workers from getting coronavirus, even while treating patients with confirmed cases of the illness, which is officially known as COVID-19.

In a study published this month in the medical journal Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, researchers indicate that standard hospital infection-control measures were sufficient in preventing the spread of the virus, which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Researchers focused on infection control preparedness for coronavirus infections in the first 42 days after announcement of a cluster of pneumonia in China on December 31, 2019, in Hong Kong.

Nearly 1,300 suspected cases in 42 hospitals were included in the testing, resulting in 42 confirmed cases of coronavirus.

During that time no healthcare workers contracted COVID-19 and no hospital-acquired infections were identified within the first six weeks of the outbreak.

Research has shown people infected with coronavirus tend to spread it everywhere. It was found all over hospital rooms of three coronavirus patients in Singapore during another study. Surfaces like bed rails, door handles, chairs, light switches, windows, sinks, stethoscopes, air fans and toilets all tested positive for the virus. However, all of the surfaces ended up virus-free after hospitals followed routine cleaning with a widely used chlorinated sanitizer.

The new study indicates active and enhanced laboratory surveillance, early airborne infection isolation, rapid molecular diagnostic testing, and contact tracing for healthcare workers with unprotected exposure in the hospitals was effective.

Healthcare workers also focused on standard hospital infection-control measures, including regular hand washing, regular surface cleaning, and using protective gloves and surgical masks.

During the first six weeks, locally acquired cases of the coronavirus increased nearly 8%. Hospital workers treated eight family clusters, and 11 of roughly 400 healthcare workers caring for those cases were found to have unprotected exposure to coronavirus and required the 14-day quarantine.

Despite the unprotected exposure, none of the hospital workers became infected.

During the study follow up, researchers took environmental samples and air samples from a patient’s room who had a significant viral load. A total of 13 environmental samples were taken after routine cleaning and 8 air samples from a distance of 10 cm from the patient’s chin with and without wearing a surgical mask.

None of the air samples tested positive and only one of the 13 environmental samples tested positive for coronavirus.

“Appropriate hospital infection control measures could prevent nosocomial transmission of coronavirus,” wrote the study authors.

Researchers recommend washing your hands often with soap and water, not touching your face, not grabbing door handles or using a tissue instead, putting the toilet seat lid down before you flush to prevent the spread of germs, and wiping down surfaces with sanitizing cleaners. Simple cleaning and prevention methods can help prevent the spread of coronavirus, they determined.