Air Purifier News: Unsafe Air in Medical Facilities

Between November 2002 and July 2003, the world saw a pandemic of epic proportions. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, lead to 774 deaths and over 8,000 infected cases. Although the epidemic originated in China and was mostly contained within Asia, the World Health Organization also issued global alerts because of SARS transmission in cities such as Toronto, New York City, and San Francisco.

SARS is primarily a respiratory disease that causes initial flu-like symptoms such as fever, myalgia, lethargy, gastrointestinal symptoms, high fever, and other non-specific symptoms. In most cases, symptoms appear within 2-3 days, and about 10-20% of cases require mechanical ventilation.

While the 2003 SARS epidemic died down shortly after the Summer of 2003, the Centers for Disease Control began to question whether health care facilities in the United States were properly equipped to handle a deadly outbreak of SARS or a similar type of virus. In a report by the University of Louisville, it was found that state and local health department budgets prevented adequate studies on these types of diseases. Health officials also warned that a disease like SARS could reemerge and strike at any time, leaving us helpless. In fact, as it is, medical facilities are often polluted from common pollutants such as debris from paper fibers found in operating rooms; and drill aerosols, abrasion powder, and mercury vapors released in the air during dental procedures.

Because SARS and other viruses can spread to new victims through the air, hospitals and clinics are susceptible. In isolation rooms, infectious diseases can still be transmitted to other patients and even healthcare workers. The Univeristy of Louisville report also noted that a few steps could be taken to decrease the chances of viral outbreaks, such as the following:

- Providing a slightly lower air pressure in patient rooms so that microbes do not flow to rooms occupied by people who are not infected.
- Developing more capacity in hospitals for a surge in people quarantined for various diseases
- Delineating authority and responsibility among federal, state, and local agencies.
- Providing increased funding for disease research
- Using a combination of HEPA filtration and UV sterilization technology in medical facilities (such as those found in medical-grade air purifiers).