Lichtgedanken 02

Editorial 47 02 | LICHT GEDANKEN Germs on the wing FSU is coordinating a major project for collaborative research and develop- ment on the way in which we deal with pathogens in aviation. BY AXEL BURCHARDT Bacteria as they occur on the surfaces of materials in hospitals — e.g. on door handles — but also in other public buildings. A cough here, a sniff there: Waiting rooms in medical practices are among the places with a high density of germs. Wherever people congregate and spend time together, there is a risk of infection from pathogens. Railway stations and airports are also places where the risk of infection lurks. A current research and development project coordinated by the FSU as part of the InfectControl 2020 consortium is looking at the risk potential of airports and air travel. The partners from the worlds of science and business want to develop effective strategies within three years for controlling the ways for pathogens to spread on flights. Within the InfectControl 2020 consortium, which is funded by the Federal Mi- nistry of Education and Research, the project known as HyFly receives €2.6 million of funds. In airports and airplanes, not only do healthy people encounter sick indivi- duals, but pathogens from all parts of the globe are also to be found there and are carried to other locations by the passengers. Interrupting infection chains HyFly now aims to provide active prevention and help to interrupt the infection chains on flights. »Preventi- on is the aim,« Prof. Dr Klaus D. Jandt explains. The materials scientist is the coordinator of the alliance and he adds: »Thanks to our partners from various sectors of industry, there won’t just be a White Paper at the end of the process to neutralize the impact of aspects rel- evant to the spread of infections at air- ports from a construction and process planning perspective. There will also be model solutions for new materi- als, e.g. with significantly lower germ adhesion, and these are later to be launched on the market.« Materials scientist Jandt and his team will investigate the role played by ma- terials and their surfaces in the spread of infections in air travel. One par- ticular challenge lies in the fact that such surfaces are subject to frequent and intensive cleaning and disinfec- tion. Over the course of time, this changes the properties of the materials surface. The project is to examine the effect of such changes on the tendency for microbial contamination. As an al- ternative to chemical disinfection me- thods, the researchers want to examine treating surfaces with light such as UV radiation, especially the efficacy of UV LEDs. Projects