Antibacterial wipes can spread superbugs: study
Disinfectant wipes routinely used in hospitals may actually spread drug-resistant bacteria rather than kill the dangerous infections, British researchers said on Tuesday.
While the wipes killed some bacteria, a study of two hospitals showed they did not get them all and could transfer the so-called superbugs to other surfaces, Gareth Williams, a microbiologist at Cardiff University, said.
The findings presented at the American Society of Microbiology’s General Meeting in Boston focused on bacteria that included methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.