Background
Airborne testing for bacteria and fungi was conducted in a male medical ward (triage and treatment room) at Sur Hospital in Oman. The same testing protocol was used in an isolation room at Al Nahdha Hospital in Oman.
Method
At Sur Hospital, two VidaShield VS01 units were used in the 376 sq. ft. male medical ward. The VS01 units were used on stands during testing because the hard
ceilings made installation a challenging process. There were no personnel allowed in the testing area during sampling, and the air conditioning was turned off.
Testing began after one patient was removed, and the room was not disinfected prior to sampling.
At Al Nahdha Hospital, one VidaShield unit was used in the isolation room. The air conditioning was turned off, and no employee traffic was allowed in the area
during sampling.
Pre- and post-installation air samples for total bacteria and fungi counts were taken with a Biomerieux air sampler, soybean casein digest agar plates and potato
dextrose agar plates. An independent lab analyzed the samples.
Results
Airborne bacteria was reduced by 93%, and airborne fungi was reduced by 100% in the Sur Hospital test results. Airborne bacteria was reduced by 80%, and airborne fungi was reduced by 100% in the Al Nahdha Hospital test results.
Conclusions
Human beings shed 37 million bacteria per hour. Restricting traffic flow of personnel and turning off the air conditioning during the sampling eliminated movement of air currents around the room which helped to validate that human traffic in test areas can dramatically impact the overall CFU count. No one entered the room during the testing hours, and they experienced a 93%/80% reduction in bacteria and a 100% reduction in fungi.