Archive: This article was first published in 2023. It reflects the state of knowledge, product names and wording of that time. Current, product-specific information can be found on the respective product pages. Results of individual studies relate to the investigated surfaces, product variants and conditions and do not constitute clinical evidence that infections are prevented.
Weeks before the planned handover of office from outgoing US President Donald Trump to his successor Joe Biden, an exceptionally thorough deep cleaning of every surface in the White House was announced. Although Biden and his team are scrupulous about wearing masks, the numerous infections within the outgoing administration meant that infection with COVID-19 via contaminated surfaces also had to be ruled out.
Official reports on the announced cleaning operation cite a survival time of several days for the virus on surfaces. However, this disinfection will only remove the remaining viruses and bacteria of the Trump era from the White House. Should an infection occur within Biden’s team, among his family or among future guests, the viruses can spread through the building like wildfire despite the earlier treatment.
Because disinfection works retroactively. And the problem does not only apply to the presidential residence, but to every clinic, every office, every form of public transport – indeed, every private household: disinfecting again and again, purely because SARS-CoV-2 viruses or other germs might have settled on a surface since the last cleaning, is a fight against windmills.
Time to rethink!
It is a little like the old proverb about the fish that feeds a person for a day, compared with teaching that person to fish …
Instead of only combating microorganisms that are already present, it can make sense to complement cleaning and disinfection with functional surface technologies – as an addition to, not a replacement for, existing hygiene measures.
Bacterlon® is a functional surface technology developed for hygiene-sensitive environments. Investigations into microbiological effects on treated samples or surfaces are available for certain product variants; each statement applies only to the tested variant, microorganisms, test method and conditions.
Practical applications in healthcare facilities have been documented for Bacterlon®. In long-term investigations in healthcare facilities, reduced microbial contamination was documented on treated surfaces over the investigation period.
In 2020, a virological surface investigation was conducted on a specific sample under defined laboratory conditions. It does not constitute clinical evidence that infections are prevented.
And the protective layer is so ultra-thin that it cannot be perceived by the naked senses.