Wood materials for limiting the bacterial reservoir on surfaces in hospitals: would it be worthwhile to go further?
Abstract
Aim: To assess the activity of Quercus petraea (oak) on five bacterial species/genus frequently involved in hospital-acquired infections for evaluating the interest of going further in exploring the possibilities of using untreated wood as a material in the hospital setting. Materials & methods: We studied the activity of Q. petraea by the disk diffusion method. Results:Q. petraea was active on Staphylococcus aureus and Acinetobacter coalcoaceticus–baumannii complex, two bacterial species particularly resistant in the hospital environment, independently from their resistance to antibiotics, and was slightly active on Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Concurrently, Q. petraea was not active on Enterococci and Escherichia coli. Conclusion: Overall, untreated wood material presented antimicrobial properties that could have an impact on the cross-transmission of certain bacterial species in healthcare settings.
References
- 1. . The role of hospital cleaning in the control of hospital-acquired infection. J. Hosp. Infect. 73(4), 378–385 (2009).
- 2. . Controlling hospital-acquired infections: focus on the role of the environment and new technologies for decontamination. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 27(4), 665–690 (2014).
- 3. . Risk of acquiring antibiotic-resistant bacteria from prior room occupants. Arch. Intern. Med. 166(18), 1945–1951 (2006).
- 4. . Risk of acquiring multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacilli from prior room occupants in the intensive care unit. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. 17(8), 1201–1208 (2011).
- 5. Control of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in Hong Kong: role of environmental surveillance in communal areas after a hospital outbreak. Am. J. Infect. Control 46(1), 60–66 (2018).
- 6. . Benefits from wood interior in a hospital room: a preference study. Archit. Sci. Rev. 57(2), 125–131 (2014).
- 7. Wood and its impact on humans and environment quality in health care facilities. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 16(18), 3496 (2019).
- 8. Direct screening method to assess antimicrobial behaviour of untreated wood. Eur. J. Wood Wood Prod. 77(2), 319–322 (2019).
- 9. Antimicrobial characteristics of untreated wood: toward an hygienic environment. Health 11, 152–170 (2019).
- 10. A multimodal infection control concept in a burn intensive care unit – lessons learnt from a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus outbreak. J. Hosp. Infect. 98(2), 127–133 (2018).
- 11. . Measuring the effect of enhanced cleaning in a UK hospital: a prospective cross-over study. BMC Med. 7, 28 (2009).
- 12. . Acinetobacter baumannii maintains its virulence after long-time starvation. PLoS ONE 13, e0201961 (2018).
