Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) technology is emerging as a preeminent means of disinfecting common areas and patient rooms in healthcare facilities as the federal government cracks down on hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), according to an article on the CleanLink website.
But as healthcare facilities add this equipment, questions remain as to how to deploy the systems most efficiently and whether the units reduce HAIs as promised.
Portable room disinfection systems use Mercury vapor or Xenon lamps that produce ultraviolet light to destroy harmful bacteria, viruses, fungi and bacterial spores.
“UV-C systems kill any one-cell organism — and most super bugs are one-cell organisms,” said Alvin Arzaga, who leads Milwaukee's Jewish Senior Living Center's UV-C program and works with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to study the technology’s effectiveness.
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