Speaking at the recent Infection Prevention & Control conference, held in Birmingham, at The National Conference Centre, Professor Mark Wilcox warned of the potential risks of contamination from hand dryers.
He showed an image that demonstrated a significant amount of ‘splatter’ to the sides of the jet air dryer, by using black water colour paint – highlighting the potential spread of contamination.
“These are the distances that we can see and are the big droplets – not the small ones that go into the air and remain aerosolised,” he commented. The ‘splattering’ was much less with paper towels, he pointed out.
The professor of microbiology, from the University of Leeds, presented further evidence that showed that paper towels are a more hygienic option for hand hygiene in hospital settings. He highlighted the findings of research that showed that total bacterial recovery was significantly greater from jet air dryers versus paper towel dispenser surfaces at three sites (median 100-300 vs 0-10 CFU, respectively, all p<0.0001).
In addition, MSSA recovery was three times more common from hand dryer surfaces and six-fold higher for jet air dryers in UK washrooms. MRSA was recovered three times more often from the jet air dryer surfaces or floors beneath, compared to paper towel sites. Furthermore, significantly more enterococci and ESBL-producing bacteria were recovered from UK washroom floors during jet air hand drying vs paper towel use (p<0.0001). In France, ESBL-producing bacteria were recovered from dust twice as often during jet air dryers vs paper towel use.
He concluded that it is clear which hand drying methods are associated with increased risk of contamination within the washroom/toilet, but the question arises: "does hand drying method affect the risk of spread of microbes beyond the washroom?"
Using a bacteriophage to represent microbial contamination, Prof. Wilcox et al investigated virus transmission to the hospital environment following hand drying. The use of paper towels resulted in lower rates of virus contamination on hands and clothing compared with a jet air dryer and, consequently, lower contamination of multiple hospital surfaces. The results can be found here.
