Tag: defend 400

Airborne Transmission: Are hand hygiene and surface cleaning enough?

CLINICAL SERVICES JOURNAL, DECEMBER 2022

Carole Hallam argues that the use of air decontamination systems to improve indoor air quality should be considered as part of Trusts’ infection prevention and control strategies. She warns that hand hygiene and surface cleaning are not enough. Click here to read the full article.

The burden of healthcare associated infections (HCAI) is a major concern across the world with an estimated 8.8 million patients affected across Europe in both acute and long-term care facilities with more than half being preventable.

Not only does HCAI result in poor outcomes for patients in terms of morbidity and mortality and but it also has a huge cost to healthcare providers. Modelled annual costs to the NHS are in the region of £2.7 billion and an estimated extended length of hospital stay of up to 25 days – what else could that money be usefully spent on and how else could the hospital beds be better utilised?

In addition to the costs and extended length of stay for patients with an HCAI, there is an even bigger concern around the growing incidence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

One in three microorganisms causing HCAI are resistant to at least one antibiotic making these infections harder to treat. With an estimated 4.95 million deaths globally associated with bacterial AMR in 2019 there has never been a more important time to prevent HCAIs.

Therefore, the principles of infection prevention and control are an essential strategy for preventing infections and the cornerstone in combating the spread of AMR. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has seen an increase in HCAI and an overuse of antibiotics increasing the risk of AMR, so they could not be a better time review infection prevention and control practices and to act.

CLICK TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE.

How One Vanderbilt Raised IAQ Standards

PUBLISHED 2022-08-08

FacilitiesNet, August 2022

One of the tallest skyscrapers, as part of one of the world’s most iconic skylines, opened for business during the COVID-19 pandemic with a high level of uncertainty surrounding what comes next.

When One Vanderbilt, the second-tallest office tower in New York City, unlocked its doors in East Midtown Manhattan in September 2020, it was during a stage of the pandemic when many employees were working from home as questions persisted about when they would return to the office. 

Read the full article on FacilitiesNet.

WellAir Launches a New Advanced Air Cleaning Device in Europe with Independently Tested Industry Leading 99.9% Effectiveness Against Airborne Pathogens

The Novaerus Defend 400 is a CE marked device that combines WellAir’s patented NanoStrike™ Technology with a triple-stage filtration system to optimize the health of indoor spaces

Dublin and Stamford, Conn. — WellAir, the leading health technology company that provides indoor air disinfection solutions, today announced the European launch of its Novaerus Defend 400. Novaerus has been a pioneer in combatting airborne and surface transmitted hospital-acquired infections world-wide for over 10 years. The air cleaning device is CE marked and is 99.9% effective at inactivating airborne pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 proxy virus (MS2 Bacteriophage), MRSA, bacteria, and fungi; while also purifying the air of particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, gases, and odours. With the launch, WellAir continues to chart a new path forward for healthy indoor environments at a time when air quality has never been a bigger priority.

Recent research published in the Journal of Hospital Infection also found that Novaerus air disinfection devices utilizing NanoStrike technology – a transformational method of air disinfection that bursts airborne pathogen cells, rapidly inactivating them to help ensure they are no longer a threat of infection – may contribute to the prevention of hospital-acquired infections by reducing the microbial load in the air. The study is the first of its kind to examine portable air cleaning and disinfection devices in an intensive care unit.

“We are bringing the Defend 400 to the European market at a turning point for indoor air quality, as more people are recognizing the role it plays in health and wellness,” said WellAir Chief Science Officer Felipe Soberon. “Given that much of this technology was developed in Dublin laboratories, it is great to see this technology now available in Europe, following a successful U.S. launch.”

Unlike other air cleaning technologies, NanoStrike’s effectiveness lies in its ability to inactivate nanosized pathogens on contact. The Defend 400’s four-stage pathogen inactivation and filtration process also utilizes medical-grade filters in order to capture bacterial debris, fine and large particles, VOCs, gases, odours, and impurities.

“COVID-19 has focused more attention on indoor air quality and has elevated the importance of safer indoor environments by reducing the risk of exposure to airborne pathogens. This is exactly what the Defend 400 is designed to do”, said WellAir President and CEO Todd M. Pope. “This portable device expands our product portfolio, delivering powerful air cleaning in multiple device sizes.”

The Novaerus Defend 400 is ideally suited for healthcare settings but is effective in a wide array of indoor environments, such as schools and offices. It is available through WellAir’s Novaerus global distributor network. For more information, visit https://www.novaerus.com/novaerus-defend-400.

About WellAir

WellAir’s mission is to make the indoor world cleaner and safer. The company’s broad range of clean air and surface products are scientifically proven to help safeguard how people work, live and play. WellAir, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with offices in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and Stamford, Connecticut, is a leading provider of infection control solutions.