INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL
Hydrophilic head Hydrophobic tail
‘modifications’ or ‘improvements’ have been made, such as air supply registers covered with card, or portable fans and covered thermostats, which may be impacting on the way that the air- conditioning is functioning. Increasing outside air provision as much as practically possible is always a good idea to help combat the spread of any respiratory viruses.
Fig 4: The hydrophobic (water-hating) ‘tails’ of soap molecules can break interactions between lipid molecules in the coronavirus membrane.
COVID-19, the infected person may not always show symptoms (an
‘asymptomatic’ individual), but may still be infected – meaning they go about their daily business without knowing they are perhaps passing on the virus. Equally, some people produce very large amounts of virus and can pass it on to many people – these individuals have become known as ‘superspreaders’. Thankfully, this appears to be rare, and most people do not pass the virus on to many others at all.
Strategies to prevent transmission To prevent this spread happening, there are several strategies that can be deployed. Firstly, in Australia we are in the very privileged position of being able to test for the virus to know who has the disease or not, and to isolate those infected, and also to have contact tracing systems in place.
This helps to prevent spread. Breaking the chain of infection, by keeping infected people away from healthy ones, washing hands and covering sneezes, and wearing masks to prevent virus escaping from infected people, all help, but what can you do within your building?
It has been well documented with Influenza that spaces that are crowded, and have insufficient ventilation, show an increase in the number of infections. This will likely be the case with COVID-19 too. The first thing to do in a hospital, or any other internal building setting, is to know what your air-conditioning system is doing, how much outside air it has, and where that air is going. Within a hospital, there will be areas of negative and positive pressure, and it should be ensured that all of these are working as they should be. It is also a good idea to check that no local
Communication with the Infection Prevention and Control Department is key, as solutions need to be worked upon collaboratively, to ensure that what people are asking for is technically feasible, will not impact upon other areas of the hospital, and will not endanger other patients. Examples of problems that have been encountered include clinicians wanting to use positive pressure rooms as isolation rooms – due to a lack of understanding of airflow – and, in the process, putting other patients at risk of infection, and the ever-present question of negative pressure operating theatres, which should be approached with great caution, as there will be implications for the patients from other infections, apart from COVID-19.
‘Novel’ products being marketed There have also been many novel products marketed during the pandemic for installation in air-conditioning that are claimed to combat coronavirus. Some of these include the use of tea tree oil, UV light, nanosilver-coated filters, and the use of Glen 20 (Dettol all-in-one disinfectant spray) in an air-handling system. While some of these have merit, it should always be borne in mind that to deactivate a virus, using disinfectant, soap, UV light, or any other means, a concept called ‘contact
PRACTICAL CITY&GUILDS ACCREDITED COURSES
May 2021 Health Estate Journal 25
Adapted from: Jonathan Corum and Ferris Jabr/The New York Times
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