UV Air Disinfection to Fight Hospital Superbugs

A leading expert in UV disinfection is calling for calm amidst the storm of publicity that has surrounded recent disease outbreaks at hospitals in the UK; Malcolm Snowball believes that a new range of ultra-violet (UV) air disinfecting units could help stop the spread of airborne superbugs.

GB Environmental (UK) has developed a range of air disinfection systems that help combat these problems through the UV disinfection of airborne bacteria and viruses by way of either a standard air conditioning system for a single bed or for entire hospital wards.

Snowball says: “I can understand the alarm that is created when these outbreaks occur, but it is important for the public, and indeed those

involved in healthcare, to appreciate that solutions are now available. This UV technology is a major breakthrough and one which I am confident will have an instant impact on the battle against viruses and infections such as MRSA, Clostridium difficile and TB in hospitals.

The benefits of UV air treatment apply to more than just medical institutions - offices and factories can also benefit, by having biologically clean air for example the unpleasant health conditions associated with Sick Building Syndrome can be substantially solved.

There have been a number of recent hospital health scares in the UK and a report in July by the Healthcare Commission suggested that a lot of NHS Trusts still have to improve in their attempts to adopt best practice in light of hospital infections including Clostridium difficile, TB and MRSA. Another report in The Lancet on the effects of UV disinfection in office ventilation systems revealed that workers reported substantially fewer work-related mucosal, respiratory and other symptoms. Snowball`s company, GB Environmental, is based in Chelmsford and claims to offer some of the world`s most advanced UV disinfection systems.