Bacteria that are resistant to disinfectants and sterilizers are appearing
Innovative sterilization and disinfection agents are becoming increasingly important in preventing infectious environments.
Infectious diseases have always threatened humanity. Since the first death from COVID-19 in Korea in February 2020, approximately 35,000 people have died from COVID-19 infection over the past four years. Despite endemicity, bacterial diseases such as whooping cough, Mycoplasma pneumonia, and food poisoning have continued to spread, and recently, COVID-19 variant viruses have spread again. The places most affected by the spread of infectious diseases are densely populated spaces such as hospitals, schools, the military, offices, and multi-use facilities. In particular, medical institutions have many elderly patients and are mainly operated in multi-person rooms, so thorough infection control is necessary. According to the environmental management guidelines of the Korean Medical Association, various surfaces in spaces where patients and their guardians are present, such as doorknobs in sickrooms and bathrooms where patients come into contact, are frequently contaminated with bacteria, viruses, and mold, so safety and effectiveness-verified sterilization and disinfection agents should be used regularly.
Dr. Park Chul-min of the Vaccine Bio Research Institute at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, Catholic University of Korea, emphasized the need for new sterilization and antibacterial technologies at the ‘Bio Spike Guard Spike Symposium’ hosted by Chong Kun Dang last month, pointing out the problem of increasing multi-drug resistant bacteria in hospitals. He said that as the use of disinfectants in hospitals has rapidly increased since the pandemic, the problem of fungal disinfectant resistance has also arisen.
Dr. Park announced that as a result of comparative analysis of various disinfectant products, a product combining didecyldimethylammonium chloride (DDAC) and a next-generation antibacterial coating material (Si-QAC) showed excellent disinfection effect even at the lowest concentration, and its effectiveness against mold was also proven.
Dr. Park said, “In multi-use facilities such as hospitals where disinfectants must be used frequently, issues with the sterilizing effect and safety of disinfectants are bound to increase further,” and added, “The use of next-generation disinfectants and sterilizers with new technologies that exhibit rapid killing power and persistence even at low concentrations will become important.”
Chong Kun Dang’s ‘Bio Spike Guard’, launched in January, is a hospital-use antibacterial coating tissue that combines didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride and next-generation antibacterial coating materials to exhibit high sterilization effects despite its low content. It is the only antibacterial coating agent in Korea to have completed a 90-day repeated inhalation toxicity test, and has completed the Ministry of Environment-approved toxicity test (acute oral, percutaneous toxicity, skin/eye irritation, skin hypersensitivity).
Professor Lee Dong-geon, Chairman of the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases and Professor of Infectious Diseases at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, Catholic University of Korea, said, “We confirmed that even with low concentrations, the sterilizing effect was similar to that of products containing high concentrations of both BKC and DDAC.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Environment will implement an approval system for all sterilization products starting in 2025. Accordingly, all household chemical products subject to safety confirmation (safety products) and sterilization and disinfection products for infectious disease prevention must be approved by the Ministry of Environment. Since the Ministry of Environment’s approval of new biocidal products must undergo strict screening, their launch and sales are expected to become more difficult.
Lee Eun-jung, CEO of Rekempro, said, “Even if it is a sterilizing or disinfecting agent that has been used on the market for a long time, if it does not meet the Ministry of Environment’s strict approval requirements such as human hazard, environmental hazard, and efficacy standards, it will not be possible to import, manufacture, or distribute it in the future.” She added, “Bio Spike Guard is a product that has been reported as a household chemical product subject to safety confirmation, so it can be used with confidence in various multi-use facilities.”
Among the questions posed by the Infection Control Nursing Society attending the Spike Symposium that day was whether the technology was effective against viruses, and in response, Park Da-som, a senior researcher at Altui Lab Co., Ltd., the technology developer, explained that the technology had been proven effective against norovirus, respiratory RSV virus, and smallpox (variola) virus through a domestic GLP research institute.
Reporter Yong-Seok Choi, Donga.com [email protected]
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2024-09-19 07:26:47