Sterilization Equipment and Disinfectants Gaining Significant Traction Due to Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic
The process of sterilization and disinfection has always been crucial in maintaining optimum hygiene in any given setting. However, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the importance of these processes. Sterilization refers to any process that removes, eradicates, or kills all forms of life particularly, fungi, bacteria, viruses, spores, etc. Sterilization equipment and disinfectants are crucial in modern medical care as patients come in contact with syringes, surgical tools, and bandages all time. These medical devices eliminate any foreign particles, pus, blood, and dirt left behind that could create complications for the next patient requiring surgery. Besides, it decreases bioburden and prevents corrosion of expensive and highly precise tools.
There are different sterilization processes performed including
steam sterilizing, flash sterilizing, low-temperature sterilizing, hydrogen
peroxide gas plasma, ethylene oxide gas sterilization, peracetic acid
sterilization, etc. Many regulatory authorities have issued guidelines on how
to sterilize medical equipment. The hospitals refer to it as a germ warfare
strategy and it is done in a specific order. The first step is cleaning
followed by disinfection which involves using liquid chemicals to kill non-spore-forming
bacteria. The final step is sterilizing where several methods are employed to
kill disease-causing microorganisms and also eradicate transmissible agents
such as spores and bacteria. The most common method of sterilization is steam
sterilization as it is the cheapest and safest method. The sterilizing
equipment called autoclaves is used that applies intense pressure and heat to
destroy microorganisms on an object.
Furthermore, in chemical sterilization different chemicals such as
ozone, ethylene oxide, bleach, and hydrogen peroxide are used to kill a wide
range of pathogens that can be harmful to humans. As mentioned earlier, the
importance of sterilization increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Key
industry players in the U.S., Italy, and the U.K. are introducing novel sterilizing equipment and
disinfectants to help healthcare workers maintain hospital
premises clean and hygienic. For instance, in the U.S., a company launched a
coronavirus disinfection robot that kills any virus on the objects with
ultraviolet light.
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