Irish Hospital First to Harness Copper Technology to Fight Infections

"St Francis Private Hospital, a 140-bed facility located in Mullingar, County Westmeath, and its associated nursing home, St Clair’s, made the decision after examining the compelling evidence from the clinical trial at Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham, which showed that copper surfaces such as taps, toilet seats and door pushplates can reduce microbial contamination by 90-100%.
The General Manager and Director of Nursing, Noeleen Sheridan, explains the landmark decision: ‘All healthcare facilities are acutely aware of the risks from the spread of germs and the high costs of negating them. As it is estimated that 80% of infections are spread by touch, keeping surfaces like door handles as germ free as possible will impact on the spread of infection. Our decision to specify antimicrobial copper products is based on this conviction, and the compelling evidence from the Selly Oak clinical trial.’"

www.copperinfo.co.uk...

I read about the trial last year and wondered when some hospital would take advantage of this property of copper. Coupled with decreased use of anitbiotics, this could greatly improve healthcare with minimal costs.

Those who know about Colloidal Silver, and has researched beyond it, would have found that other metals such as Zinc and Copper also works similarly.

Copper is used as a fungicide and pesticide on agricultural crops, it figures they would turn to it as an option when drug resistant pathogens start to cause problems.

MRSA is hardly the only one. There are at least 4 other common drug resistant infections plaguing hospitals.

[edit on 28-2-2010 by jjjtir]

very interesting! ...

i had always thought copper was poisonus!.... i thought it was silver that had the anti bacterial actions, but , we learn something new every day

i wonder how many stupidly simple forms of anything to do anything are lingering right under our noses.

I have been using colloidal silver for years (no colds or flu here). A few friends of mine died in hospital from 'hospital borne infections' so it always kind of amazed me how on the one hand, hospitals are always coming under the spotlight for people dying in their care, yet never really look into the proper cures and preventions. (slight big pharma influence no doubt)

So this news kind of warms my heart that they are going along the natural most effective route. It is strange (well maybe not) that it is a private hospital doing this, i.e one that can be sued and not a public hospital where it is so easy to pass the buck of responsibility.

Good luck to them and I hope this is introduced to all hospitals before many more people will die needlessly.

No wonder water toxicity is increasing as copper pipes have been replaced by plastic.

They just keep on pumping in more chloramine but that still doesn't kill all the microbes.

reply to post by boaby_phet

Copper is poisonous. To bacteria as well as other living things.
Don't be licking those copper toilet seats.

[edit on 2/28/2010 by Phage]

reply to post by Phage


Well, it does induce growth of arteries(angiogenesis), a contributing factor to cancer.

Even a past NY Times book best seller warned about copper as back as 2000~2002. But of course she was initially dismissed with scepticism by the medical establishment.

Most likely the electrical qualities of Copper has the ill effect on the little bugs.
Silver has an ion effect for killing microbes perhaps but the use of copper might
be the less expensive way to go.