Health

The risk of hospital-acquired infections is rising in recent years due to the emergence of multi-drug-resistant bacteria (*) and the increasing number of elderly and cancer patients, who are susceptible to infection due to their weakened immune systems. In hospitals and clinics, alcohol wipes and sprays are used to clean medical equipment and items in the area where many people are in contact, as one of the means of preventing infectious diseases. However, alcohol evaporates in a short period of time, and therefore the duration of the disinfected status is limited.

The cleaning wipes and spray that Fujifilm has launched utilize the uniquely developed Hydro Ag+ antibacterial technology, which evenly distributes silver antibacterial agents and hyper-hydrophilic polymer that hardens at room temperature in an alcohol solution. Cleaning door knobs and beds with these products disinfects the items, and at the same time forms a hyper-hydrophilic coating that leaves silver antibacterial agent particles on the surface of the cleaned item. These agents gradually release silver ions which prevent bacterial growth over a longer period of time—even after the alcohol has evaporated. Use of the wipes or spray can be chosen depending on the materials and shapes of the items to be cleaned, providing the optimum results. These products should greatly contribute to infectious disease prevention in medical and care workplaces by reducing the risk to patients of further infection, as well as protecting medical staff and visitors.

* Multi-drug-resistant bacteria: Bacteria that have become resistant to antibacterials.