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Humans and laundry as potential sources of infection –
A challenge to laundry processing
The health of inmates is obviously the
main reason for strict hygiene. Another
important consideration is the reputation
of the institution. Age-care homes requires
full occupancy to work economically.
Repeated outbreaks of infectious diseases
can seriously damage a home's reputation.
Even if only a few beds remain empty as a
consequence, this can mean the difference
between profitability and a loss-making
operation. Good hygiene is therefore a real
economic factor.
Infections
Micro-organisms are ubiquitous. The
bacterial count on and in the human body
alone exceeds the number of human cells
by a factor of 10. Even seemingly harmless
representatives of this species can, given
the right circumstances, result in serious
infections.
This is the case when the human body is
already weakened on account of previous
illnesses or through poor nutrition. One
bacterium which can exploit such conditions
is staphylococcus aureus – a frequently
occurring and usually innocuous bacterium
which can pose huge problems in the form
of antibiotic-resistant MRSA.
People in old-age care require that the
strictest of standards apply when it comes
to hygiene. For the on-premise laundry,
this means being able to deal reliably with
a wide range of different micro-organisms.
This applies in particular to pathogens
which are known to survive on textiles
(e.g. staphylococcus, candida yeasts,
adenoviruses) or which are highly infectious
even in minimum doses (e.g. shigella, E.
coli) and hence frequently behind outbreaks
of diseases in care homes.
Laundry suspected of being infectious
The challenge is not represented by
bacteria alone: work processes in laundries
also have a major impact on containing
the spread of diseases. Laundry from
many occupants whose infection status is
unknown is generally processed together.
Laundry items pass through storage
rooms, machines and the hands of several
employees before being given back to
residents. The following is all the more
important:
• Expert treatment of laundry (regulations
and guidelines issued by professional
associations and insurance companies
and occupational health and safety
standards)
• Use of effective disinfectants and
processes (in Germany: RKI and VAH lists)
• Systematic definition of critical points and
checks where contamination is likely (EN
14065: RABC)