CHAPTER 6: Prevention of Hospital and Community Acquired Infections by Using Antibacterial Textiles and Clothing

Hospital-associated infections, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), usually lead to higher death rates, longer curing times, and higher costs in treatments. Textiles have been found to act as a carrier of MRSA, with high micro-organism survival rates on all clothing and textile materials and the possibility of spreading these drug-resistant micro-organisms is particularly noted. Antibacterial textiles could play an important role in prevention and reduction of the transmission of the diseases. However, due to the contingency of the biological contaminations of the micro-organisms, only antibacterial functions that can quickly and completely kill the bacteria, so-called biocidal materials, can eventually provide the desired preventive functions. This chapter will discuss the desired and potentially effective antibacterial functions on textiles and proper technologies that can meet the requirements in the prevention of hospital-related infections.