Efficacy of an automated ultraviolet C device in a shared hospital bathroom.

Abstract

Toilet flushing can contribute to disease transmission by generating aerosolized bacteria and viruses that can land on nearby surfaces or follow air currents. Aerobic and anaerobic bacterial bioaerosol loads, and bacterial counts on 2 surfaces in a bathroom with a permanently installed, automated ultraviolet C (UVC) irradiation device, were significantly lower than in a comparable bathroom without the UVC device. Permanently installed UVC lights may be a useful supplementary decontamination tool in shared patient bathrooms.

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Authors+Show Affiliations

School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Electronic address: jessejcooper@gmail.com.

Division of Medical Microbiology and Infection Control, Vancouver Coastal Health, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Division of Medical Microbiology and Infection Control, Vancouver Coastal Health, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

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MeSH

Pub Type(s)

Language

eng

PubMed ID

27575773