HEALTHCARE HYGIENE
Breaking the superbug chain
Annual superbug deaths are predicted to exceed eight million by 2050 as drug-resistant infections rise. Liam Mynes, from Tork manufacturer Essity, looks at the scale of the problem and considers how hand hygiene and cleaning can help to break the chain of infection.
Superbugs are predicted to play a role in more than eight million deaths each year by 2050. This is nearly double the number of deaths recorded in 2021, according to figures recently released by the University of Oxford.
Hospitals are a hotbed of infections because many wards are inevitably filled with frail, elderly and immune- compromised patients. So, what exactly is a superbug, and why are they on the rise?
The term ‘superbug’ refers to any infection that has become resistant to the antibiotics designed to treat them. The word first entered common usage in the 1990s with the emergence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
MRSA became a major problem in UK hospitals with the number of death certificates mentioning MRSA peaking at 1,652 in 2006. A combination of enhanced screening and a better understanding of how MRSA could be prevented led to a dramatic decline in cases in the run-up to COVID. Alarmingly, MRSA seems to be on the rise again.
Government data reveals that the number of incidences of MRSA in January 2026 rose by 18.9% compared with the same month in 2025. While case numbers were still much lower than the mid-2000s peak, this was still a worrying trend.
Meanwhile other threats are emerging – and growing. Candida auris – a fungus that spreads in healthcare facilities and is often resistant to all major antifungal medications – is now considered to be an ‘urgent’ threat as dramatic increases in the number of cases have been logged.
30 | TOMORROW'S CLEANING
Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii is also a critical priority since this highly-resistant pathogen survives on surfaces and causes severe conditions such as pneumonia and bloodstream infections. Plus, Carbapenem- resistant Enterobacterales such as E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae have been labelled ‘nightmare bacteria’ because they can pass on resistance genes, rendering last- resort antibiotics ineffective.
Every care therefore needs to be taken to protect vulnerable hospital patients against such potentially life- threatening infections.
Experts agree that good hand hygiene is the best way of curbing the spread of infections and viruses in hospitals. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), staff need to wash their hands before touching a patient, before carrying out any aseptic procedure, after any exposure to body fluid, after touching a patient and after touching the patient’s surroundings.
However, in order to be able to practice thorough hand washing and drying, medical staff need to be provided with constant access to effective skin-friendly products.
Soap and hand towels should be easy to use and kind to the hands since healthcare staff members will need to wash their hands frequently. For example, Tork Foam Soap comes in a Sensitive version which is particularly kind to hands, while Tork Matic Soft Hand Towel Rolls are soft, absorbent and gentle on the skin.
The provision of a fragrance-free conditioning cream such as Tork Sensitive Moisturising Hand Cream will further
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