A new rapid-acting disinfectant may help reduce deadly infections in hospitals, say German scientists.
The disinfectant is a simple alkaline detergent formulation mixed with 20 percent propanol, United Press International reported.
In tests on surgical instruments, the disinfectant killed bacteria, viruses, fungi and prions that cause mad cow disease in cattle and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.
"Standard formulations that eliminate prions are very corrosive," study leader Dr. Michael Beekes of the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin, said in a news release, UPI reported. "The solution we've come up with is not only safer and more material-friendly but easy to prepare, cheap and highly effective."
The study is published in the February issue of the Journal of General Virology.