Combating Infection with Antimicrobial Copper

Combating Infection with Antimicrobial Copper
A leading Belgian care home is offering its residents improved protection against nosocomial infections with the installation of antimicrobial copper touch surfaces.

WZC Van Zuylen Nursing Home, in Bruges, offers a range of facilities for the elderly. During a recent rennovation, antimicrobial copper door furniture was installed to improve hygiene, augmenting existing infection control procedures and helping reduce the risk of infections spreading via these frequently touched surfaces.

Copper is inherently antimicrobial, and shares this benefit with many copper alloys including brass and bronze. Collectively termed ‘antimicrobial copper’ this family of metals is being used to make touch surfaces such as taps, light switches, grab rails and work tops that will not harbour the pathogens that cause infections, actively killing them 24/7 and in-between regular cleans.

With proven efficacy against the key pathogens that cause healthcare-associated infections (such as MRSA and C. difficile) copper is also highly effective against norovirus, making it a prime choice for care homes.

Ann Vandycke, a Senior Technical Advisor at OCMW Brugge – the company that runs WZC Van Zuylen – served as lead architect on the refurbishment project, and was instrumental in the decision to install antimicrobial copper. "We have selected antimicrobial copper – in the form of bronze – for recent projects, starting with WZC Van Zuylen," Ann explains. "As an organisation with a wide variety of building types, offering a range of facilities for the elderly, we are constantly searching for new ways to improve the comfort and quality of the environments we design. Studies have shown that frequently-touched surfaces can serve as reservoirs for the spread of pathogenic microbes. This is a particular problem in healthcare facilities. Since microbes tend to survive for long periods on surfaces such as door handles, we were pleasantly surprised by products in a material that could reduce the transmission of disease-causing organisms: antimicrobial copper."

She added: "The cost for achieving these results is negligible within the total investment, considering the
advantages for our residents as well as our staff. Aesthetics are another important consideration for me. As an architect, I carefully considered the use of this door furniture, and the bronze was an easy sell. Now the first phase of the project is complete, we can plainly see we made the right choice."


Available in a range of colours – from the familiar red of copper through the gold of brasses and brown of bronze right up to silver shades resembling stainless steel – antimicrobial copper touch surfaces are a cost-effective, additional measure care homes can take this winter to protect patients, staff and visitors from the spread of infection.

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