Copper alloys can mitigate the bacterial burden on high-touch surfaces and placing them in equipment athletic centers can decrease community-acquired infections, according to a study in American Journal of Infection Control.
Researchers conducted the study at an athletic center in an undergraduate college over a 16-month period. The athletic center was used by college athletic teams, student body and local community. Researchers rotated copper alloy weights and grips with rubber coated and stainless steel control equipment at the center.
The study shows control equipment carried bacterial loads 94 percent larger than those found on copper alloy equipment. Researchers found Staphylococcus to be the most common bacterial genus found on grip surfaces. Antibiotic resistance testing proved all isolates were susceptible to vancomycin and linezolid, whereas 35 percent of copper alloy isolates and 44 percent of control isolates were resistant to erythromycin.