EcoHydra Upcoming Events - Please come and see us at:

Infection Prevention Society Annual Conference and Exhibition - 20 / 22 September 2010 - Bournemouth
MEDICA 2010 - 17 / 20 November - Dusseldorf, Germany
ARAB HEALTH 2011 - January 2011 - Dubai

EcoHydra News

EcoHydra products effective against NDM-1 bacteria

The presence of NDM-1 does not reduce the effectiveness of any EcoHydra product because the presence of NDM-1 is that it fundamentally only changes which antibiotics can kill the bacteria. NDM-1 has no impact on our products, which act as a disinfectant, no matter what the antibiotic resistance profile may be.

NDM-1 can exist inside different bacteria, like E. coli, which makes them resistant to one of the most powerful groups of antibiotics. NDM-1 is not itself a new ‘superbug’, but can create that effect in different bacteria and leads to these bacteria becoming resistant to carbapenem antibiotics.

Two types of bacteria that can host NDM-1, and that have caused the greatest concern to doctors, are a common bacterium, E. coli, and another that can invade the lungs called Klebsiella pneumonia. Both can lead to urinary tract infections and blood poisoning.

EcoHydra products are effective against both of these bacterium and the use of our products will continue to aid in maintaining effective hand hygiene programmes.

EcoHydra Antimicrobial Instant Hand Sanitiser is the FIRST alcohol-free sanitiser approved by the NHS

EcoHydra is pleased to confirm that our Antimicrobial Hand Sanitiser has been approved through the NHS clinical assessment process and is the first alcohol-free hand sanitiser to achieve this approval. The product can be purchased by all NHS facilities and will soon be available through the NHS Supply Chain.

The NHS has confirmed that larger organisations have not been able to provide the proof of efficacy of the product and the confirmation of safety for use on a daily basis in a healthcare setting that the EcoHydra Instant Hand Sanitiser has confirmed. This is a major move forward to demonstrate the efficacy of alcohol free products in healthcare.

EcoHydra adds dental distribution

EcoHydra has joined with dhb Oral Healthcare to distribute our product range to the dental market.

The products were tested at Newcastle University against these criteria:

The ideal properties of a hand hygiene product:

The ability to rapidly destroy all microorganisms with which they come into contact
To have no adverse effects on the skin and nails with repeated use
Environmentally acceptable
Long shelf-life
Inexpensive
Can be used by everyone, irrespective of ethnic background
No medical contraindication

The Newcastle University trial of the EcoHydra Antimicrobial Instant Hand Sanitiser demonstrated that it:

Shows considerable promise as a new cationic cleanser and a gold standard answer to infection control in the dental surgery environment
Of particular interest - antimicrobial properties and EcoHydra’s effectiveness against 99.999% of microorganisms, including Norovirus and Clostridium difficile, destroying them within 15 seconds of contact
User friendly…. EcoHydra product dries naturally on the hands and provides residual antimicrobial activity

Professor Seymour from Newcastle Dental School, who has been road testing the EcoHydra product portfolio, notes: “The EcoHydra range is very exciting, using a unique approach to killing HCAI germs and having the ability to be effective against 99.9999% of micro organisms. As a result, it shows considerable promise as a new cationic cleanser and is, I believe, the advanced answer to infection control in the dental surgery environment, without possessing the frequent usage problems associated with alcohol containing sanitizers.”

Williams Medical Supplies Demo Show - February 2010

EcoHydra attended the WMS Demo Show in February 2010 to support our catalogue distribution to GP surgeries and the Primary Care sector. We were able to meet with many delegates to demonstrate the products and outline the many benefits including:

lower cost than alcohol gels
faster acting than competitor products
better clinical effectiveness than alcohol gels
our products don't go up in smoke!

EcoHydra attends Arab Health 2010

EcoHydra attended Arab Health 25 - 28 January 2010 to promote our products to the Middle East market. Our distribution model in the Middle East is through a limited network of highly motivated distributors that are well placed in their individual niche sectors. We are following interest and registering the products in a number of areas, including the UAE, India, Iran and Kuwait.

EcoHydra exhibits at MEDICA 2009

18-21 November 2009 EcoHydra attended MEDICA 2009 - the largest global medical consumables exhibition. Customers and distributors from all parts of the world found the products to be innovative and a new approach to hand hygiene that is both kind to caregivers and safe for patients and users. Interest in global distribution has grown from this event. Please contact us if you would like to become a distributor of our product range.

Infection Prevention Society Annual Conference and Exhibition - 21/ 23 September 2009 - Harrogate

EcoHydra met with delegates at the IPS Annual Conference and Exhibition and met with a resounding welcome for alcohol-free products that meet the clinical needs of Infection Control teams. At this conference, delegates from the prison services and mental health facilities were particularly interested in the EcoHydra Antimicrobial Instant Hand Sanitiser, following recent press about the abuse of alcohol gels in these facilities.

EcoHydra joins National Care Association Suppliers Forum

To support the Care Home industry, EcoHydra joined the National Care Association Suppliers Forum. By joining this Forum we demonstrate our commitment to enhancing the hygiene programmes in Care Homes and the health of both patients and staff in these facilities.

EcoHydra exhibits at 'Healthcare Associated Infection '09 - Towards Zero'

Delegates trying the products at this conference expressed a need for an alcohol-free range of hand hygiene products in the NHS, saying that the alcohol based products damage their skin.

Professor Brian Duerden CBE, Inspector of Microbiology and Infection Control / Department of Health, a keynote speaker at the conference, said; " the NHS should have an alcohol free product range available as an alternative to the current alcohol based products; if only initially for those people unable to use or effected by the continual use of the alcohol based products presently available".

FIS Delegates' Survey

EcoHydra distributed samples of our Instant Hand Sanitiser to delegates at the Federation of Infection Societies Conference held in November 2007. In January 2008, we asked the delegates how they liked the product.

Delegates responding to the survey were positive about the product. The results are as follows:

- 90% like the feel
- 90% found it kind to skin
- 90% liked it as much as, or more than alcohol gels
- 100% found the website and technical data gave confidence in the efficacy of the product.

The winner of the bottle of champagne for participating in the survey was: Dr. P. Collini. CONGRATULATIONS!

BMJ article on dangers of alcohol based products; "Alcohol handrubs hygiene and hazard"

Using alcohol based handrubs in a clinical setting is hazardous, as noted in recent research from Guy's and St Thomas' hospital records. The article reviews the hazards associated with patients ingesting the alcohol products, with serious side effects. Incidence of ingestion has increased by 314% in adults in hospital and care home settings since the implementation of the use of alcohol gel products for hand hygiene purposes. EcoHydra's products do not contain alcohol and are therefore safe to use in a patient setting. The full article can be found via the link: BMJ%20-%20Alcohol%20hand%20rubs%20hygiene%20and%20hazard

Related BBC News article: BBC NEWS Health Boozy patients drink NHS hand rub

Winning the War against MRSA and Clostridium difficile EcoHydra recognises Infection Prevention Week

14 - 20 October 2007

"Infection Prevention - It's in your hands"

EcoHydra Technologies Limited is supporting Infection Control Week, which is now aligned with International Infection Prevention week. The focus of the week is to bring the importance of infection control and hand hygiene to the forefront of attention on a worldwide basis.

Only last week the increasing rates of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) were in the press headlines. The Healthcare Commission issued a damning report into how the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust in Kent handled outbreaks of the bacterial infection C. difficile.

EcoHydra is pleased that our range of alcohol-free hand hygiene products do not break down the outer covering of the C. difficile spore. Using the EcoHydra products will keep 99.99% of germs that cause HCAIs under control, without the need to change hand hygiene procedures if a patient has contracted an active case of C. difficile infections.

Kate Winn-Rogers, Operations Director of EcoHydra stated that, "C. Difficile is a dangerous bug; it gets into the intestines and produces very powerful poisons which can be lethal in about 7% of cases. The difficulty in controlling C. difficile is that it produces spores that can survive for a long time in the environment. Unfortunately, it has been shown that alcohol does not kill the spores of the Clostridium species and in certain tests actually causes an increase in the number of viable spores found. This is why our alcohol-free products are a major improvement on the products currently used in the NHS."

To see the full press release, please click here:

Health Protection 2007

Sponsored by the Health Protection Agency

EcoHydra attended the conference and exhibition. The product range was well received and the delegates s howed interest in having alcohol free products to usein their workplaces.

The winner of the Apple iPod was Debbie Oliver. The iPod was presented to her by Sir William Stewart, Chairman of the Health Protection Agency.

Congratulations Debbie!