As a result of the global ongoing crisis with the coronavirus pandemic, there have been shortages in supplies for personal protective equipment (PPE). PPE decontamination has already been proven to be an effective strategy in times of uncertain outbreaks and can be carried out using different innovations such as hydrogen peroxide vapour, Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) light and heat.

The Risk of Infection

Health workers in general are at risk of acquiring infections if they are not wearing appropriate PPE. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as other global health organisations, has urged healthcare establishments to conserve the use of personal protective equipment and when necessary, decontaminate already used PPE to be reused again. As a result of supply shortages, health workers are being sent to work closely with patients without using PPE, which can pose higher risks for them, especially when there is a highly contagious virus. Not wearing appropriately decontaminated PPE possesses more risks to the patients as well and eventually lead to higher number of unwanted cases of coronavirus and other airborne pathogens.

The Most Susceptible

Surgeons, nurses and healthcare workers in general are the most susceptible because they are interacting with the patients and carriers of the disease on a daily basis. Therefore, it is very crucial for them to wear appropriately decontaminated masks and gowns to reduce the risk of infection. Also, these health-workers can serve as carriers of the disease and contribute to cross-infection among different departments within the hospital. Therefore, it is very crucial and vital to wear new or properly decontaminated PPE.

• Hydrogen peroxide vapour and Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation have been reported as suitable choices for disinfection of items contaminated with SARS-CoV-22

• HPV and UV germicidal irradiation are very effective at eliminating pathogens from FFP3 masks without significantly influencing appearance, integrity and function of these masks1

How Inivos Can Help

Our PPE decontamination service can be delivered as both an on-call service for emergency situations, a specific area or a project or as a scheduled managed service contract. This enables us to reduce the risk of a patient acquiring and infection whilst in hospital, by reducing the number of reservoirs available for dangerous pathogens to multiply in.