staff and visitors is a priority, the situation in African hospitals is different
because the institutions face serious difficulties such as overcrowding, frequent
shortages of basic supplies such as running water and clean linen.
“The conditions in African hospitals
are often poor, and it is very likely that
these environments lead to considerable
amounts of sickness among patients who
are already debilitated by their primary
illness,” said the study.
The World Health Organization
said hospital-acquired infections affects
from five percent to 15 percent of hospitalized patients in regular wards and
as many as 50 percent or more of patients in intensive care units (ICUs) in
developing countries.
The Kenya Medical Association
(KMA), a voluntary membership organization open to all medical and dental
practitioners registered in Kenya, has
lauded the unveiling of the anti-bacterial
paints saying it will greatly contribute to
reduction of hospital infections to patients and medical personnel.
“We commend Crown Paints for introducing this innovative product in the
market. It will help address the challenge
posed by hospital-related infections to
both patients and hospital staff,” said Elly
Opot, the chairman of KMA during the
launch of Medicryl in March.
Medicryl was Crown Paints’ second
product to be launched in succession
in a period of two year after the earlier
unveiling of Teflon Surface Protector
paint in the market, which the com-
pany said “ensures walls and other
surfaces are easy to clean and resistant
to stains.”
Rao also said Crown Paints, which
also operates Regal Paints in neigh-
boring Uganda, has shifted focus to
paint solutions that enhanced the living
environment.
“We are committed to providing coating solutions that not only have decorative appeal but also improve the living
environment. Medicryl will enhance the
environment in which we care for patients and help reduce hospital-related
infections,” said Rao.
Similar innovative paint solutions
July 2013
Africa
have been unveiled in South Africa as
paint manufacturers focus on the huge
health sector in Africa’s largest economy.
Dulux South Africa, a subsidiary of
UK-based Dulux Trade, has recently
launched Sterishield, a water-based paint
that prevents the flourishing of bacteria
on painted surfaces.
“We see this as a major breakthrough
in anti-bacterial paint coatings that will
promote a much more hygienic environment in many buildings throughout
South Africa,” said Mayan Desai, Dulux
South Africa’s trade marketing manager
in March.
Dulux said the Sterishield Diamond
Matt is ideal for hospitals, health clinics, care homes and kitchens. The company says this anti-bacterial paint has
“an active silver-based bactericide”
which when combined with its “durable
and washable nature of the paint film”
makes it an effective solution in eradicating bacteria.
The growing interest in health in
South Africa has attracted more paint
makers now keen on growing their market share in the larger Southern Africa
region. Kansai Plascon, formerly Plascon
South Africa, was in the market earlier
with its Professional Hygiene paint.
Plascon said the paint, launched last
year and which has become popular with
consumers especially those running res-
taurants, “creates cleaner and more hy-
gienic interiors, which alleviate the risks
of cross-contamination, illness and infec-
tion in public buildings.”
According to Plascon, the paint is
formulated using its own biodefence sil-
ver technology enhancing its capacity to
“protect against harmful bacteria such
as E.coli and Staphylococcus aureus and
does not wash or wear off during the life-
time of the paint.”
“The paint has been tested against the
stringent Japanese Industrial Standard
Test for Anti-Microbial Activity and
Efficacy, which measures the ability of
antimicrobial surfaces to kill or inhibit
the growth of microorganisms. Plascon
Professional Hygiene eliminated up to
99.9 per cent of E.coli during the test,”
the company said in one its product
briefs. “It can reduce the E.coli count
www.coatingsworld.com
to less than one percent after six hours
outstripping conventional paints which
can take more than 24 hours to achieve
the same result. It has also proven to be
effective in lessening the bacterial load
on surfaces between washing, to ensure
that surfaces stay cleaner and healthier
for longer.”
Previously business-to-business
marketing manager James Mcleary
had said the company is “able to of-
fer customers a healthier paint solution
which will help to protect them and
others from bacteria.”
Over six months ago Kansai Plascon
pioneered a paint solution that could help
reduce Africa’s biggest fever causing par-
asite aedes aegypti.
The company unveiled its Mosquito
Repellent Paint which keeps away
malaria-causing mosquitoes from surfaces such as walls and ceilings that
have been painted with the coating
solution.
The Mosquito Repellent Paint, which
Kansai Plascon said repels mosquitoes for
up to three years “can also be used as a
finishing coat on appropriately primed
and undercoated wood and metal. South
Africa Bureau of Standards (SABS) test-
ing found that surfaces treated with
Mosquito Repellent Paint recorded 99
percent less landing when using Aedes
aegypti mosquito.”
Center for Disease Constrol (CDC) de-
cribes the Aedes aegypti as “a small, dark
mosquito with white lyre shaped mark-
ings and banded legs” mostly in tropical
and subtropical areas and considered “to
be primary vector of viral diseases such
as the dengue fever, chikungunya and yel-
low fever.”
The repellent paint according to
Kansai Plascon is “suitable for applica-
tion to suitably prepared plaster, concrete,
porous brickwork and various types of
building board.
For paint manufacturers in Africa,
the health sector promises to remain
one of the largest markets because of
the increasing demand for preventive
solutions as opposed to curative solutions, which are considered more expensive. CW
