Introduction                                                      

Colonisation occurs frequently and once selected, the resistant organism may be spread to others with whom the carrier comes in contact. Hospitals and residential homes are prime reservoirs for the spread of resistant bacteria. Healthcare workers may become transiently colonised during an outbreak and may have to be isolated from high-risk wards such as ICUs, paediatric, cardiothoracic and transplant units.

The problems with gram negative resistance is well recognised since the 1960’s. A more recent and serious problem has now also emerged among gram positive organisms. The pneumococcus (the common cause of pneumonia) which is responsible for large numbers of deaths each year, particularly among the elderly, is now becoming resistant to penicillin. These resistant strains are spreading rapidly world wide and are also often resistant to other first and second line antibiotics. MRSA is recognised as a major problem in most developed countries and contributes significantly to increased mortality in those infected, despite the use of expensive antibiotic therapy. Vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) is the latest and potentially the most serious gram positive resistance problem to emerge as enterococci are inherently resistant to most other antibiotics available.

"Currently, between 5 and 10 percent of patients admitted to acute care hospitals acquire one or more infections, and the risks have steadily increased during recent decades.These adverse events affect approximately 2 million patients each year in the United States, result in some 90,000 deaths, and add an estimated $4.5 to $5.7 billion per year to the costs of patient care." (http://www.medical-journals.com/r037.htm)

Hand washing is the primary means of controlling the spread of micro-organisms but is often inadequate when not done correctly or frequently enough.The antiseptics normally used in health care settings unfortunately often do more harm than good. This is due to the irritation and damage done to normal skin by these agents which has two consequences. Firstly, workers avoid the ritual of hand washing due to skin irritation and secondly, the skin damaged by disinfection paradoxically is much more likely to harbour problem organisms such as MRSA, which is known not to survive on normal skin. Alcohol destroys all micro-organisms on the skin including commensals which act as a first-line-of-defence against pathogens.

The PROMETICS range of products has been scientifically formulated and tested to reduce the possibility of person-to-person microbial transmission in hospitals and in the community. A combination of active ingredients, including one occurring naturally in skin as an antibacterial, has been formulated to function synergistically at low concentrations. These products do not contain antibiotics, synthetic antibacterials nor alcohol and may be used even on the most sensitive skin.

The unique combination is active against viruses, fungi, gram negative and gram positive bacteria as well as against multi-resistant organisms such as MRSA and VRE. It is also know to be active against Anthrax (tested against the Sterne strain). Regular application of PROMETICS XL Skin Cream produces a soft, silky feel to the skin due to its moisturising and barrier actions. It will reduce the bacterial load thereby facilitating a reduction in microbial transmission while at the same time preserving the integrity of the normal skin defences. These products are highly recommended for use in hospitals and clinics as well as by the public at large. Anyone working in environments where person-to-person contact is essential should consider protecting themselves and their contacts with one or more of these products.

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