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The battle against swine flu is taking a hi-tech turn with a device developed by military scientists which is likely to be introduced into Bahrain homes, schools and hospitals, writes Asma Salman.
A revolutionary air disinfection (AD) unit that promises to kill 99.999 per cent of bacteria or viruses - including the highly contagious H1N1 Swine Flu virus - has been introduced into the region by leading health and safety provider, Reza Hygiene, which has a base on Budaiya Highway.
Malcolm Palmer, the company's business development manager, said: "It works like magic. Using the AD will mean that enclosed rooms will become safer."
The unit uses technology that was developed by the UK's Ministry of Defence Portan Down research centre to combat biological warfare. After years of research and development, it has been launched by Inov8 Science, an international environmental technology company. "The AD device is particularly critical at this time because of the H1N1 scare," Mr Palmer added.
Enclosed spaces are the highest risk areas for individuals to contract bugs. According to health and safety experts the AD device is a non-toxic and harmless air disinfection unit that produces hydroxyl radicals that are nature's method of killing airborne infections, from organisms such as bacteria, viruses and fungi, within the confines of a hospital ward, office, home or school.
"In standard hygiene we disinfect our hands and contact surfaces. Finally we can disinfect the air, which is really the need of the day given the presence of the highly contagious H1N1 Swine Flu virus," said Mr Palmer, 52, who has 27 years of experience in the field of innovations and hygiene in the GCC.
Mounting fears over swine flu has led many private schools on the island to delay commencement of their academic school year by a week following Ministry of Health recommendations.
Some schools that were due to begin on September 1 opened this week after a week's delay. Other schools such as St Christopher's School and Naseem International School that were due to open at the beginning of this week will now open next week to allow a safety gap and reduce the risk of infection among students.
Isolation rooms have been set up in every school on the island and students attending classes in a few of the already open schools are being monitored closely by authorities.
Most of the government schools, alongside a number of private schools including the British School, Pakistan School and The Indian School, will reopen after the Eid break whereas pre-schools, kindergartens and classes for children under six will commence in October.
"Presently, a leading hospital on the island along with some expatriate schools have requested a trial of the AD unit," said Mr Palmer.
Social distancing which means keeping at least six feet away from another person in open air is one way to avoid infection from influenza but given the close proximity in classrooms, hospitals, offices and other enclosed spaces, social distancing offers an impractical solution.
The AD provides social distancing within enclosed spaces and testing proved that the AD unit killed more than 99.999 per cent pathogens in less than an hour. One AD unit costs BD320 and Reza Hygiene also provides a rental system of the device. The cost of an AD unit in use would amount to approximately BD1 daily.
The AD unit was introduced 18 months ago in some hospitals in the UK where reduced levels of bacterial counts have been observed.
"I visited the Royal Sunderland Hospital in the UK to discuss and check the effectiveness of the product. There were two patients in the isolation ward and the efficiency of the device was reducing the time spent by patients in it," said the Budaiya resident and father-of-two whose youngest child is a pupil at St Christopher's School.
The AD unit employs the concept of Open Air Factor which works on the principle that open air disinfects naturally. While researching the Open Air Factor scientists discovered that the ozone layer combines with the natural extract from plants called olefins and produces hydroxyl radicals that kill pathogens in the air. This concept has been developed and incorporated in the AD unit, said Mr Palmer.
