'Good' bacteria to clean filthy hospital wards

The principle is similar to that behind probiotic drinks and pills, which repopulate the gut with “good” bacteria to kill off disease-causing “bad” bacteria, say the scientists. A new research has found a cleaning liquid containing good bacteria reduced bad bacteria by 1,000-fold compared with standard cleaning techniques.

The study looked at bacteria levels at a busy London ambulance station after using traditional cleaning and after three weeks of cleaning with the good  bacteria product, the  Daily Mail reported.

Results showed a visible improvement in cleanliness. Apparently, the good bacteria continued to digest the dirt once the mop was put away. Furthermore, scientific tests found harmful bacteria, such as staphylococcus, had been eliminated. The cleaning product, Chemzyme Plus, uses a friendly bacterium — B subtilis — which feed on soil and produce natural antibiotics. These attack and kill the harmful bacteria.

The product is based on previous studies which show that B subtilis, when taken as a probiotic, is effective at preventing C.difficile-related diseases, such as diarrhoea, in animals and might be beneficial to humans.

Sean Derrig, who led the team, said: “Once good bacteria have done their job, they hibernate by forming an inactive spore. But if bad bacteria — or the dirt that hides them — reappear, they germinate and start their work again.

“Because the bad bacteria are quickly killed off by the good bacteria, there is no chance of them mutating and becoming resistant.”