Effectiveness of a novel non-intrusive continuous-use air decontamination technology to reduce microbial contamination in clinical settings: A multi-centric study

Abstract Background Despite rigorous disinfection, fumigation and air treatment, infectious microbial load has been found to circulate and survive for significant durations in health care settings. This raises significant concerns for hospital acquired infections. We have developed a novel, hybrid, trap- and-kill airborne-microbicidal technology called “ZeBox” which is efficient in clearing 99.999% of airborne microbial load under controlled lab conditions. In this study we evaluate the clinical performance of the ZeBox in reducing airborne and surface microbial load in two independent hospital settings. Methods The studies were conducted in single bed and multi bed ICU of two hospitals. Airborne and surface microbial loads were collected at pre-determined sampling sites pre- and post-deployment of the ZeBox enabled device. The Normality of data distribution was determined using the Shapiro-Wilk test. Statistical significance was determined using Students’ T test and Mann-Whitney’s U test. Pathogenic and opportunistic organisms were characterized using 16S rDNA sequencing. Furthermore, the antibiotic sensitivity of the isolated organisms was tested against current treatments of choice across major antibiotic classes. Results Post-deployment, we found statistically significant reductions in both airborne and surface microbial load within the operating range of the ZeBox enabled technology. Across the both hospital ICUs, there was 90% reduction of airborne microbial load on average, and 75% reduction of surface microbial load on average, providing a low bioburden zone of roughly 10-15 feet diameter around the unit. These reduced microbial levels were maintained during the entire duration of device operation over several weeks. Many of the clinical isolates recovered from one of the hospitals were drug resistant, which highlighted the potential ability of ZeBox to eliminate drug-resistant microbes and thereby reduce the frequency of hospital acquired infections. Conclusions ZeBox enabled technology can significantly reduce a broad spectrum of microbial burden in air and on surfaces in clinical settings. It can thereby serve an unmet need in reducing the incidence of hospital acquired infections.