South African cleansing product may hold key to halting MRSA, Pseudomonas and Clostridium

A South African cleansing product called HandAid may hold the keys to halting MRSA, Pseudomonas and Clostridium Difficile. Trialed on healthcare staff in London, the new alcohol-free hand gel has been scientifically developed to deliver more than twice the normal level of protection against infections.

Independent tests conducted at the University of Edinburgh show HandAid acts as a barrier against bacteria, viruses, fungi and spores, eradicating viruses from skin. John Govan, Professor of Microbial Pathogenesis at University of Edinburgh, said Handaid "showed rapid killing of all microbes tested.  Sterility was maintained at 24 hours."

Prof. Govan tested HandAid against Escherichia coli, MRSA, Enterococcus faecalis, Acinetobactera baumanni and the yeast, Candida albicans.  "We also tested important and/or emerging CF pathogens including clinical isolates exhibiting resistance to conventional antibiotics. These included: Epidemic P. aeruginosa, Burkholderia cepacia, Burkholderia cenocepacia, Stenotrophomans maltophilia, Ralstonia pickettii, and Ralstonia eutropha."  

HandAid has been launched in the UK by Worldwide Water Plc. The gel offers users up to seven hours protection and retains its effectiveness after their hands have been rinsed or exposed to water, forming a breathable layer of gel on the skin. NHS staff wash their hands around 40 times a day, generally using a 180ml bottle of alcohol-based product every two days. This costs the NHS around £3.6 million -a figure which could be reduced by half by using HandAid.

Oscar D'Souza, Financial Director of World Wide Water, says HandAid is biodegradable, contains no Alcohol or silicone, and is environmentally friendly, non-toxic and non-carcinogenic. "It doesn't involve any chemicals so it is kinder to the skin and the eco-system," he says.

Traditional alcohol-based products are currently used extensively across the NHS. Alcohols are rapidly germicidal when applied to the skin, but they have no residual activity.  Critics say the alcohol-based cleansing products can be harmful to the environment and damage the skin of the user. The need to regularly reapply such products also makes them an expensive cost to the healthcare industry, which spends an estimated £3.6 million every year on them.