How Effective is Robot Pulsed UV Light Disinfection in Reducing C.diff, MRSA, and VRE
2021-05-21 by hqt
WHAT IS ROBOT PULSED UV LIGHT DISINFECTION, AND WHICH DISEASES CAN BE CURED THROUGH IT?
This article will examine how industries and healthcare facilities are incorporating robot pulsed UV light disinfection technology for killing specific dangerous viruses and bacteria. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the basics and go through the terminology.
Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) that uses short-wavelength ultraviolet (ultraviolet C or UVC, is commonly referred to as wavelengths between 200 to 280mn light to kill or inactivate microorganisms by destroying nucleic acids and disrupting their DNA, leaving them unable to perform vital cellular functions.
Robot pulsed UV light disinfection or UVC is effective for wiping off microorganisms. You use it to disinfect hospital rooms, treat water and sanitize air ducts as well. Hospitals greatly depend upon this technology to avoid the spread and transmission of viruses from that specific space.
Though several diseases can be cured through this technology, we’ll look at the three main in this article. We’ll also go through the symptoms and causes to clarify any misconceptions because these diseases are interlinked to UV disinfection and explain why it is an important tool.
C.diff;
C.diff, also known as Clostridioides difficile or C. difficile is a germ (bacterium) that causes severe diarrhea and colitis (inflammation of the colon). It is estimated to cause almost half a million infections in the United States each year.
It commonly affects older adults in hospitals or long-term care facilities and typically occurs after antibiotic medications.
- Symptoms;
This disease’s mild/moderate symptoms are watery diarrhea three to two or more days and mild abdominal cramping and tenderness. However, the symptoms of severe infection are slightly different.
People who have severe C.diff infection tend to become dehydrated. If the situation becomes crucial, you will have to admit the person to the hospital. This bacterium causes colon inflammation and sometimes has patches of raw tissue that can bleed or produce pus.
Major signs include;
- Rapid heartbeat.
- Weight loss.
- Blood or pus in the stool.
- Loss of Appetite.
Causes include; taking antibiotics or other medications, staying in a health facility, and having a serious medical procedure.
MRSA;
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a bacterium that causes infections in different parts of the body. It’s trickier to treat than most strains of staphylococcus aureus — or staph — because it’s resistant to some common antibiotics.
The incubation period ranges from one to 10 days if it enters the broken skin or damaged mucous membranes.
- Symptoms;
The symptoms of MRSA depend on where you’re infected.
Staph skin infections generally start as swollen, painful red bumps that might look like pimples or even spider bites. The affected area might be warm to the touch, full of pus or other drainage accompanied by a fever.
The red bumps can quickly turn into deep, painful boils that require surgical draining. Even though the bacteria remain confined on the skin, they can travel to your body and cause problems in the heart valves, joints, and bones.
It is best to keep an eye on pimples, scars, insect bites, and cuts and if a fever joins these, then see a doctor immediately.
The primary cause of the bacteria happens due to antibiotic resistance. Bacteria live on an evolutionary fast track, so germs that survive treatment with one antibiotic soon learn to resist others.
MRSA has different complications too. They are challenging to treat as they are resistant to the common flu and can allow the infections to spread and sometimes become life-threatening.
MRSA affects your bloodstream, lungs, heart, bones, and joints, as mentioned before.
VRE;
VRE stands for vancomycin-resistant enterococcus. It’s an infection that is resistant to the antibiotic called vancomycin. Enterococcus is a type of bacteria that generally lives in the intestine and the female genital tract.
It usually doesn’t make us sick. However, sometimes it can cause infections in the;
- Urinary Tract.
- Heart Valves.
Not only that, but they are also prone to causing infections in open wounds. It typically affects people who are already sick in the hospital and can be hard to treat because of the fewer options of the doctors.
It is advisable to note that some of these strains are life-threatening.
- Symptoms;
People who carry VRE infections in their intestines or genital tracts don’t often show symptoms. If you get sick from VRE, you might have the following symptoms.
- General sick feeling.
- Rapid Heartbeat
- Redness, swelling, or pain in your body.
- Chills or goosebumps.
If we talk about the causes, then if someone is suffering fro VRE are usually those in the hospital, have a severe illness, or weak immune system.
You are more likely to suffer from the injection, if you had surgery either on your chest or abdomen, have a medical device that needs to stay close to you at all times, or have a severe problem such as a blood disorder.
Advantages of UVC;
You might have noticed that the diseases we discussed were all related to hospitals or residing in hospitals. That is where the importance of UVC technology comes to play.
Think about it. Manual cleaning and disinfection are often inadequate and result in residual contamination. Transmission of such germs becomes easy. By now, we know that hospitals are a significant hub for diseases.
Besides killing microorganisms on surfaces, disinfection robots offer reproducibility by recording the disinfection process’s operation parameters and providing quality assurance.
Let’s look at a few of the significant advantages of UVC technology.
- UV disinfection is a chemical-free process that leaves behind no residue.
- UV requires no transportation, storage, or handling of toxic or corrosive chemicals.
- No-touch automated disinfection eliminates human error in the disinfection process.
Take Away on Robot Pulsed UV light Disinfection
UVC technology is the modern way to combat diseases. It offers a number of benefits and is highly effective. Perhaps, these are the reasons that the UVC technology is becoming increasingly popular not only along with healthcare facilities but also among other industries.
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