Studies find copper may help protect against MRSA and other hospital superbugs

Sunday, December 13, 2009 by: E. Huff, staff writer
Tags: copper, MRSA, health news

(NaturalNews) The Journal of Hospital Infection is set to publish three papers in its January issue that discuss new research about the antimicrobial properties of copper. Studies are showing that copper is highly resistant to bacteria and that it may be a viable biocide to use in hospitals where superbugs like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) run rampant.

Researchers from University Hospital Birmingham discovered that toilet and bathroom surfaces that were replaced with copper components had 90 to 100 percent fewer live bacteria living on them than did conventional surfaces. A health-care facility in Western Cape, South Africa saw similar results on their copper-overlaid surfaces, noting a 71-percent reduction in microbial contamination versus the other surfaces.

In Scotland, copper-based disinfectants have been used for years to clean hospitals as have micro-fiber mops and towels which are known to attract and draw bacteria from surfaces. Though typically difficult to disinfect, the copper-based disinfectants were found to work remarkably well at disinfecting the micro-fiber cleaning tools and continue their cleansing work throughout the day.

Based on the many reports from various facilities about the antimicrobial power of copper, researchers are convinced that copper has great potential for helping to control bacteria in hospitals and other health-care facilities. They hope that further research will help formulate solutions for preventing the onset of serious hospital infections like MRSA that claim the lives of many patients. Because copper is a natural, non-toxic metal that is highly effective at resisting bacteria, its potential uses are many in the health-care industry.

Comments by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger

This research on copper is "new" old information. This knowledge has been used for centuries to help keep beverages fresh in storage containers (long before modern refrigeration). Both copper and silver have natural antibacterial properties. (http://www.indiadivine.org/audarya/ayurveda/...)

Modern medicine, sadly, has thrown out all knowledge it didn't discover itself, and that includes these simple truths about the antibacterial properties of certain metals. To this day, the FDA continues its attacks against colloidal silver, and the EPA has even joined the fray to try to outlaw colloidal silver as a "pollutant."

The same tactics will, in time, be used to try to outlaw copper used for medicinal purposes. Why? Because natural metal-based antibacterial substances compete head-on with high-profit antibiotics and anti-bacterial soaps. The drug companies and chemical companies that manufacture such products would much prefer patients and medical staff consume soaps and pills that have to be repeatedly purchased rather than rely on solid-state technology like copper doorknobs that never need to be replaced.

Copper doorknobs, it seems, work so well they're bad for business.

Sources for this story include:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-...