Radio National 13 July 2013, an interview with Fran Kelly

Austin Hospitals’ director of infectious diseases Lindsay Grayson confirmed that ‘old world’ infection control initiatives employed in recent years are highly effective.

Grayson pointed out that there are no Australian and no international hospital cleaning standards.

He stated that hand hygiene regimes, notably the use of alcohol rubs, have cut the incidence of golden staph by half. And cleaning hospitals with bleach has reduced the presence of one of the key superbugs by 75%.

Grayson explained that food safety is the ‘big sleeper’. The (over) use of antibiotics in the food chain – notably in countries like China and Vietnam – means a lot of food is contaminated and in turn gut flora becomes contaminated with superbugs.

People who travel overseas then present with superbugs in their systems. Testing needs to be done before relatively minor hospital procedures can take place…

Grayson said bleach works incredibly effectively… but it does require proper procedures in use.

These old fashioned procedures – including bleach and handwashing -were in place before antibiotics were discovered.

www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/superbug-researcher-lindsay-grayson/4815658