Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
Your industry news - first
The original and best - for over 20 years!
We strongly recommend viewing Cleanzine full size in your web browser. Click our masthead above to visit our website version.
Serenus Biotherapeutics brings Xenex disinfection robots to Africa to help battle pathogens including Ebola.
Serenus Biotherapeutics has entered into an agreement with Xenex Disinfection Services to bring the Xenex pulsed xenon Full-Spectrum ultraviolet (UV) room disinfection system to Africa, where it will be used to combat such pathogens as Ebola (pictured).
The Xenex Germ-Zapping Robot is used throughout hospitals, outpatient surgery centres and skilled nursing facilities in the US, Canada and Europe.
In a five minute disinfection cycle, it destroys contagious superbugs on surfaces through the use of high intensity pulsed xenon UV light. Designed for speed, effectiveness and ease of use, it enables hospital cleaning staff to efficiently integrate it into a hospital's existing operations and hospital acquired infection (HAI) reduction strategy.
HAIs are common in developing nations, resulting in prolonged hospital stays for non-critically ill patients of between six and 23 days. In developing countries, excess mortality in critically ill adults affected by ventilator-associated pneumonia is reported to be as high as 27.5%. Among hospital-born babies in developing countries, HAIs are responsible for 4% - 56% of all causes of death in the neonatal period, with 75% occurring in Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Health Organisation. Pathogens' increasing resistance to antibiotics and chemicals used in cleaning is worsening the problem of HAIs and fuelling an increase in drug resistant superbugs.
"We have an opportunity to make a substantial impact on the quality of healthcare in Africa, including significantly reducing hospital stays and mortality with the introduction of this state-of-the art technology," says Dr. Menghis Bairu, CEO of Serenus. "The Xenex pulsed xenon UV disinfection robot is proven technology that is saving lives by eliminating the deadly microorganisms that cause infections in the healthcare setting."
Recent peer reviewed studies by hospitals that purchased Xenex robots have reported greater than 70% decreases in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium difficile infection rates, documenting how they used the Xenex robot in their real-world hospital environment to reduce infection rates by destroying the microorganisms that cause infections. Unlike other UV products that use bulbs containing toxic mercury to produce low-intensity UV light, Xenex uses high intensity Full Spectrum pulsed xenon UV light to disinfect.
Although the robot's success against common 'Western' pathogens is well documented, it is only recently that it has been tested against live (not surrogate) Ebola virus and Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) spores in collaboration with the biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) containment laboratory at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute.
It was announced yesterday, that the study validates the efficacy of the technologyon two of the world's deadliest pathogens. In Texas Biomed's BSL-4 lab, the Xenex robot easily destroyed both Ebola and anthrax spores on surfaces, achieving a greater than four-log reduction of Ebola in one minute and a greater than three-log reduction in anthrax spores in 15 minutes. In none of the time/distance combinations was either anthrax or Ebola detected after the Xenex device was utilised.
Serenus will use its Pan African platform to make this technology available to fight hospital-acquired infections in Africa. Xenex will manufacture the robots and Serenus will be responsible for commercialisation and distribution in Africa.
Morris Miller, CEO of Xenex, says: "Since the Ebola crisis began in Africa we have worked diligently to find the right partner to bring this life saving technology to Africa.
"We are excited to work with Dr. Bairu and Serenus for the benefit of Africa. With the expertise and relationships Serenus has in Africa, this agreement provides us with access to important new markets and enables us to make a difference in the lives of people in the areas they serve.
"We are looking forward to enhancing patient safety measures at hospitals in Africa by providing the technology to destroy the germs that make patients suffer."
www.serenusbio.com
www.xenex.com
19th November 2015