The Department of Science and Technology Region 10 nodded in agreement to Northern Mindanao Medical Center’s (NMMC) request for further studies on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) disinfection.
Dr. Art Surdilla, Liaison Officer of NMMC Incident Command System, sought the agency’s expert assistance in finding possible ways for disinfection of the cover-all suits used by health-care workers. The request is to respond to the shortage of PPE as the hospital continually caters patients suspect for coronavirus disease and those referred from other hospitals throughout the region. The NMMC started to handle Covid-19 related cases since February of this year.
DOST-10 through its Regional Science and Testing Laboratory’s Microbiology Unit, researched on the possible ways to disinfect PPE which may include the use of ultraviolet (UV) light, humid heat, hydrogen peroxide vapor, and ozone.
Also being studied was the possible disinfection methods for surgical and N95 masks. “Anecdotal evidence from facilities in other countries shows that the average number of times masks have been able to be reused is three times before fit testing failures are observed, whereas masks were run through the UVGI disinfection protocol 50 times before significant degradation of seal integrity was observed,” Mechler S. (2020).
DOST-10 Microbiology Research Analyst Freann Faith Lagahit collated all gathered data and researches from different certified health agencies (i.e., CDC, FDA, and EPA). The report in a table format that included summary of the procedures of each method, some recommendations and considerations for the use of each method, and the measure of effectiveness of some methods, gave NMMC better options in choosing what is applicable and efficient for them. Alloena Marie O. Neri, DOST-X
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