Study Finds Surfacide UV-C Disinfection System Effective against Deadly MERS Virus

WAUKESHA, Wis., Sept. 1, 2016 -- The Surfacide® UV-C healthcare disinfection system can reduce the deadly MERS virus to undetectable levels in just 5 minutes, according to a recently published study. The findings were published in the Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology (ICHE) journal.

The MERS virus is responsible for Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and has led to lethal outbreaks overseas. MERS was first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and caused 76 deaths. The most recent outbreak occurred in South Korea and involved 180 patients.

This deadly pathogen is expected to be a rising threat in American healthcare because of international travel that has already brought Ebola and other dangerous pathogens to the U.S. The MERS virus has a reported mortality rate of 36% --meaning it kills more than one-third of those who contract the virus.

"The effectiveness of the Surfacide system against the MERS virus is an important finding," said study co-author Adam H. Buchaklian, Ph.D. "This type of virus can mutate very rapidly and lead to large, deadly outbreaks or even epidemics.

"Hospitals in the U.S. are becoming increasingly aware of this danger and want to be prepared for it," he added. "This study showed that Surfacide's UV-C disinfection system can effectively help protect patients and hospital staff against MERS."

The lead author on the paper was Kurt Bedell, B.S., of the University of Iowa Department of Microbiology, where the study was performed. Stanley Perlman, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Iowa Department of Microbiology, was a co-author along with Buchaklian, who is Director of Clinical Research for Surfacide, LLC.
The research on the MERS virus was conducted in highly sophisticated facilities at the University of Iowa using strict containment BSL3 laboratory protocols because of the extreme danger of the virus.

The May 2016 paper showed that Surfacide's Helios® system reduced the MERS-CoV virus to undetectable levels – a reduction of >99.999% -- after only 5 minutes of exposure. The virus level remained undetectable after 30 minutes of total exposure, achieving a 5.9 log10 reduction.

Surfacide's Helios system uses three light-emitting towers in the patient environment to eradicate drug-resistant organisms including superbugs such as C. Diff, MRSA, VRE, CRE and acinetobacter.

This multi-emitter technology more quickly and effectively disinfects an entire room, including the bathroom and other hard-to-reach areas. The Helios emitters are positioned closer to hard surfaces, thereby reducing UV-C disinfection time and improving overall efficacy. The system has been shown in clinical studies to significantly reduce the risk of HAIs and lower hospital infection rates.

Other competing systems use just one tower, which is a less effective approach. Single emitter systems, including pulsed xenon gas systems, cannot reach all high-touch surfaces in a single disinfection cycle.

The 10-to-20 minute Surfacide disinfection cycle is performed in an unoccupied room, after an environmental services cleaning professional has manually cleaned the area and wiped down surfaces. Treating the room with UV-C energy is an evidence-based disinfection modality disinfecting areas that were not completely cleaned manually.

Healthcare providers are turning to UV-C technology as a complement to traditional cleaning methods to combat healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). UV-C energy (at 254nm) is the peak germ-killing part of the ultraviolet spectrum.

According to the CDC, roughly one in every 20 hospitalized patients acquires an infection during the course of receiving treatment for another condition. HAIs create significant health risks and cost the healthcare industry billions of dollars each year. That toll has placed a high priority on innovative technologies such as UV-C disinfection.

The Surfacide Helios system is available in the U.S. and internationally. For more information as well as efficacy studies, visit Surfacide.com or call 844-390-3538.

About Surfacide

Surfacide, LLC designs and manufactures UV-C disinfection systems. The company's mission is to help minimize healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) by developing effective technological solutions for hard-surface disinfection. Surfacide's evidence-based solutions target the reduction of pathogens and other causative agents of infectious diseases in healthcare settings, with a primary focus on the control of "superbugs" such as C. diff, CRE, MRSA, VRE, and acinetobacter. For more information, call 844-390-3538 or access www.surfacide.com.

CONTACT: September 1, 2016
         
         Contact: Liz Dowling, (415) 388-2794
         Dowling   & Dennis Public Relations
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