In an article that first appeared in the June 2014 issue of Health Estate Journal’s sister publication, The Clinical Services Journal, the Copper Development Association highlights the growing recognition, both in the UK, and among healthcare research and provider bodies overseas, of the significant part that antimicrobial copper can play in preventing and controlling infection in healthcare settings.
Over the past few months, the Association explains, antimicrobial copper’s infection-beating properties have been acknowledged by a variety of ‘research and horizon-scanning’ bodies, among them one in Canada, as well as by a leading UK consultancy and research provider to the NHS. The material is also increasingly being specified by hospitals worldwide following trials which have demonstrated clearly its efficacy in ‘beating the bugs’.
Man has benefited from the antimicrobial properties of copper since the dawn of civilisation. Well before microorganisms were discovered, the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Aztecs, used copper-based preparations to treat burns, sore throats, and skin rashes, as well as for day-to-day hygiene. Copper was also used to ward off infection in battlefield wounds.
In the 19th century – with the discovery of the cause-and-effect relationship between germs and the development of disease – scientific evidence began to be gathered. Most recently, in the past few decades, extensive research has been carried out on the antimicrobial properties of copper and its alloys against a range of microorganisms threatening public health in food processing, healthcare, and air-conditioning applications.
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