Trial for MRSA cleaning agent refused

A NEW hygiene product being used by the British NHS to fight MRSA and C difficile will not go on trial here due to a lack of scientific evidence, Health Minister Mary Harney has said.

The cleaning agent, developed by a British company after five years of trials and studies, is being piloted by the NHS following a successful study conducted at Glasgow Royal Infirmary in 2006 which saw MRSA reduced by 50% through the treatment of just 5% of a ward’s high-contact surfaces.

Labour spokesperson on Europe and Human Rights Joe Costello said the response he had received as to whether or not the product would be used, was “very limp”.

“Nothing has been effective to date in dealing with these superbugs so I think this should be looked at very carefully.

“There are no side effects associated with it. It is gentle on human skin and can be used without any protective clothing. Its effectiveness would be easy to gauge,” he said.

Labour spokesperson for health Jan O’Sullivan said people were dying because of these bugs and anything that could help should be looked at very carefully.

“These bugs are killing people, we need to at the cutting edge of this technology and should be fighting them every way we can,” she said.

According to the makers of the technology, the anti-bacterial cleaner would not cost much more than regular disinfectants already in use in hospitals.

On trial at a hospital in the US, the Monroe Hospital in Indiana says it has never had a single case of MRSA, C difficile or any kind of hospital acquired infection during the two years in which the technology has been in use.

Curtis Gemmell, professor of bacterial infection and epidemiology at the University of Glasgow and one of Britain’s foremost experts on hospital acquired infection said the results were very encouraging.

“This demonstrates there is a proven and practical solution to address the current crisis,” he said.

A spokesman for the agent’s maker, Byotrol said it is not suggesting it can completely solve the problem of hospital infections.

“It’s not a magic bullet but it can play a big role in the fight against superbugs,” he said.