Research
Copper Alloys Can Kill Life-Threatening Bacteria
By Keith Arora-Williams, Ticker 7/4/08
Apr 9, 2008 - 2:28:35 PM

Copper releases ions that kill bacteria, according to Guillermo Figueroa of the nutrition and food technology department of the University of Chile in Santiago."Copper ions separate on contact with bacteria and cause irreversible damage to the bacteria's cells," Figueroa said. "It is a very swift, physical chemical process. They die quickly."

Copper Development Association Inc., the Latin-American arm of the International Copper Association, sponsored the lab testing that revealed evidence of copper's efficacy in exterminating Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MSRA), more commonly known as the "super bug."

The CDA boasted their product's ability to eliminate more bacteria in less time when compared to more commonly used aluminum and steel surfaces. A grouping of 100 million MSRA bacterium atrophied into oblivion in a mere 90 minutes when placed on a copper surface at room temperature. The same number of germs took over four hours to die off when placed on a bronze surface. Under the same conditions, the number of MSRA bacteria on steel and aluminum surfaces actually increased over time.

The findings have resonated loudest in hospitals around the world. Approximately 1.7 million Americans contracted infections during hospital stays and a subsequent 100,000 people perished from these diseases in 2007 alone, according to the U.S. Center of Disease Control.

In a study done by the American Medical Association in 2005, MSRA bacteria caused 18,650 deaths in hospitals, translating to nearly 19 percent of these types of deaths. If this study is accurate, it would mean that staph infections were a more likely cause of death than AIDS in the U.S. for that year.

In the aftermath of the EPA's approval, manufacturers have begun to pitch ideas to hospitals, all of which feature a copper doorknobs, counter tops, railings and intravenous needles.

The EPA warned that, "copper alloy [surfaces are] a supplement to, not a substitute for, standard infection control practices."

"Copper alloys would be a cost-effective alternative to existing materials," said CDA Regional Director Miguel Riquelme Alarcon.

Prominent writer and associate professor at Harvard School of Public Health, Dr. Atul Gawande, asserts that the propagation of hospital infections stems from a lack of personal hygiene among medical professionals.

"Having shaken hands with a sniffling patient, pulled a sticky dressing off someone's wound, pressed a stethoscope against a sweating chest, most of us do little more than wipe our hands on our white coats and move on," admits Gawande in his book, Better.

The ironic fact that doctors themselves can perpetuate the spread of contagions is not, however, a discovery of the modern age. Austrian doctor, Ignac Semmelweis, first identified the problem in 1847.

He noted that one percent of mothers that gave birth under his supervision at their homes died of puerperal fever, an extremely contagious airborne pathogen. Meanwhile, the same ailment managed to claim 20 percent of mothers that delivered babies in his hospital. This serves as evidence that doctors who neglected soap and water destroyed potential families.

Instead of being lauded for his discovery, Semmelweis was dismissed from his position.

Semmelweis, like many doctors today, devoted much time to helping people in the face of adversity because of their binding oath to uphold and protect the lives of their patients .