A new technique of sterilizing hospitals using gas could change the way hospitals are being cleaned.

The technique involves pumping a mixture of ozone and hydrogen peroxide gas into a room to eliminate microbes on walls, drapes, chairs and other surfaces that need disinfecting. It is a more effective method than wiping down surfaces. The disinfection process is more efficient since it takes less than an hour and even leaves behind a pleasant smell.

Dr. Dick Zoutman, from Queen's University in Canada, who had helped develop the technique, said it was inspired by Mother Nature and how bacteria are killed in humans. In a human body when an antibody attacks a germ, it produces ozone and a small amount of hydrogen peroxide. The resulting reactive compound is very lethal against bacteria, viruses and mold.

"This is the future, because many hospital deaths are preventable with better cleaning methods," said Dick Zoutman, who is also Quinte Health Care's new Chief of Staff. "It has been reported that more than 100,000 people in North America die every year due to hospital acquired infections at a cost of $30 billion. That's 100,000 people every year who are dying from largely preventable infections."

Dr. Zoutman is working with Dr. Michael Shannon of Medizone International at laboratories in Innovation Park at Queen's University.

Aside from disinfecting hospital rooms, the technique has practical uses in other areas. The vapor can be used to disinfect food preparation areas, cruise ships and processing plants after an infection outbreak. The vapor is also very effective against bedbugs and could be used in hotel rooms and other communal rooms. Medizone International is already planning to make the vapor commercially available next year and a major U.S. hotel chain has already expressed interest in using it because of its potential to save the company millions of dollars in lost revenue and bedbug infested furniture.

The cleaning technology is described in the December issue of the American Journal of Infection Control.