Home shower filter protects against waterborne infection
Patients undergoing procedures that suppress their immune systems, such as bone marrow transplant or chemotherapy, are highly vulnerable to infection. When these patients return to their homes, the simple act of taking a shower may expose them to dangerous pathogens that live in water systems.
Many hospitals worldwide, particularly transplant units, protect against waterborne pathogens with point-of-use showerhead filters. Pall Corporation, pioneer in point-of-use filtration for hospitals, has now introduced the home version of its hospital shower filter, the Pall-Aquasafe water filter for homecare applications. The clinically proven, CE-marked medical device extends the same technology used in hospitals to remove fungal spores, bacteria and protozoa from water for home use.
When water flows through a showerhead, tiny water droplets containing contaminants separate from the main water stream and are spread by air currents in all directions. Some are inhaled as aerosols, while others condense onto surfaces where contamination can be transferred through touch. The Pall-Aquasafe showerhead prevents these contaminants from entering the environment directly at the point of use.
The disposable showerhead protects against pathogens dispersed through water, including Legionella, Pseudomonas aeruginosa - the most common cause of severe life-threatening lung inflammation in cystic fibrosis patients, Acinetobacter, Aspergillus (mould), fungal spores, protozoa and parasites such as Cryptosporidium. These pathogens thrive in the biofilm that forms in water systems, which is then dispersed into the environment through an unprotected showerhead.
"The Pall-Aquasafe showerhead filter enables clinicians to send a measure of hospital-quality protection home with their seriously ill patients, who will now be able to shower safely without risk of infection," said Dr Joseph Cervia, professor of clinical medicine and pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and global medical director, Pall Corporation.
The Pall-Aquasafe water filter for homecare applications is easy to install and use. Offering a double layer of sterile filtration, identical to that used in hospitals throughout Europe, the showerhead housing is also enhanced with a bacteriostatic additive to lessen the risk of reverse, or retrograde, contamination.
The Pall-Aquasafe showerhead connects to the existing shower hose by means of a special adaptor packaged within a one-month starter kit, also containing two shower filters, disposal bags, labels and a special waterproof pen. Replacement packs contain two filters and additional disposal bags and labels. Showerheads may be safely disposed of in household refuse.