- Hospital Bugs are a Big Deal: Seriously, people get sick in hospitals all the time from common airborne viruses like norovirus, influenza, and RSV. More extended stays, higher costs, and increased staff illness are the result.
- Norovirus is Everywhere: Not just hospitals, but cruise ships, restaurants, schools – you name it. It’s a tough cookie to get rid of and spreads easily.
- How Viruses Spread: They get around through contact, stuff we touch (fomites), and even through the air!
- Airborne Transmission is Tricky: Especially for norovirus, it’s a genuine concern because those tiny virus particles can hang around in the air and land on surfaces, spreading the infection even more.
- Current Solutions Aren’t Perfect: We use protective gear and clean surfaces with stuff like bleach. But bleach is nasty to use, and it’s hard to make sure surfaces stay wet long enough, actually, to kill everything. Plus, there aren’t good ways to clean the air in hospitals yet.
- Enter Ozone! This gas can kill viruses in the air.
- Why Ozone Rocks: As a gas, it can penetrate all those nooks and crannies that liquid disinfectants can’t reach. Proven virus-killing power!
- Humidity Helps: When it’s more humid, ozone creates more powerful cleaning agents, so it kills viruses even better.
- Good News for Norovirus: Just 40 minutes of ozone at high humidity wiped out a lot of norovirus (and other viruses they tested). Even shorter times worked for some viruses at lower humidity.
- Future’s Looking O-Zone: Using ozone to clean the air, when rooms are empty, is a brilliant, practical way to fight off those annoying airborne viruses, including the flu!
Common viruses acquired in hospital settings include:
- Norovirus
- Influenza
- Rotavirus
- RSV
- Rhinovirus
- Coronavirus
- Adenovirus
- Enterovirus
Norovirus has been problematic in other indoor environments, including:
- Restaurants
- Schools
- Kindergartens
- Concert halls
- Airplanes
- Buses
- Cruise ships
- Daycare centres
- Transport and commuting services
Viruses can be transmitted in several ways:
- Contact: This can be direct (person-to-person) or indirect (touching contaminated surfaces or objects, then touching your mouth, nose, or eyes).
- Vehicles: Ambulances, police vans, public transport,
- Contaminated water, food, or inanimate objects (fomites).
- Vectors: Viruses can be spread by infected insects or animals.
- Airborne Transmission: This occurs through droplets and tiny aerosol particles released when an infected person breathes, talks, coughs, or sneezes. Smaller aerosols can travel longer distances and remain airborne for minutes to hours.
- Other bodily fluids: Viruses can also spread through sexual contact or from a pregnant parent to their baby during pregnancy.
Current control measures for viral infections in indoor settings include:
- Personal protective equipment (PPE) includes disposable gowns, gloves, respirators, and eye protection.
- Sodium hypochlorite (bleach), which is effective against norovirus, is often used as a surface disinfection protocol. However, achieving recommended contact times for disinfectants can be challenging due to workload and staffing.
Consequences of hospital-acquired infections include:
- Extended hospital stays for the patient
- Increased costs
- Absenteeism among healthcare workers
- Patient deaths
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