Written by Karen Louise Stoner
Laundering is essential to stop our clothes from becoming vehicles of infection transmission. Textiles are used throughout a hospital setting. Be it as a uniform for practioners, bedding, patient gowns, towels, and many other uses. It goes without saying that with exposure on the daily to different pathogens, textiles become contaminated.
Cause of infectious disease to healthcare professions lead by the hospital environment is the third leading cause of spread. According to a scientific review of 1,022 outbreak investigations throughout hospitals. this includes hospital linen and healthcare worker uniforms.
In the midst of a pandemic, healthcare professionals have a duty, to take extra caution not to further spread infection. Having such close contact with patients, the Faculty of Health Science and allied health care workers are all taking extra precaution to protect their uniforms. They keep them solely for their place of work for their protection, the patient’s and the community. However, there are other infectious diseases that they are protecting the community from, not just COVID-19!
How is Infection Spread?
Healthcare workers come into contact with blood, skin, urine, and many other bodily fluids and tissues. These substances contain a high number of microorganisms which inevitably contaminate such textiles due to the nature of close contact.
In studies by Fijan et al., (2005), Perry et al., (2001), Hota et al., (2004), after laundering hospital worker uniforms, traces of surviving microorganisms were still found including MRSA and Acinetobacter baumannii, and many more.
MRSA
MRSA is one of the most commonly spread microorganisms through clothing. It is a branch of staph bacteria, resistant to many antibiotics making the spread difficult to control and infection difficult to treat. It is spread by skin to skin contact and touching contaminating objects. Thus, making it easy to transmit via clothing.
How to Launder Potentially Infectious Textiles
Detergent and laundry additive can be used for effective laundry procedures. The water temperature should be the warmest that the textile’s instructions allow for (never below 60˚C.) If HCPs wash their uniforms at home, Riley et al. recommends washing uniforms separately from other clothing items and after every shift. You can minimize further spread of infections by always carrying out proper hand hygiene, another vehicle for the fast transmission of infection.
Conclusion
Whilst all healthcare workers wear their uniforms with pride, it is essentially a protective barrier to all the aforementioned microorganisms. The pride that a uniform can bring to a job should be mirrored both in the way that the HCP works and the way they act responsibly in the community. Nosocomial infections (hospital acquired infections) take up a permanent residency in the hospital. It is up to the dutiful healthcare worker to diminish all risks to the best of their ability for them, for me, for you.
