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Introducción:

Professor Wolfgang Wildführ and Dr Annerose Seidel of the Hygiene Institute at the University of Leipzig made the discovery that bacteria die faster on
stainless steel. The discovery was made following comparative studies involving plastic. This discovery is thought to be of great importance when
considering the use of different materials in hospitals and residential care homes. The information on the mortality rates of Escherichia coli, newly discovered during this research, is of the greatest significance. This bacterium, found in human stools, can be held largely responsible for secondary infections in hospitals as it is the cause of smear infections.
According to statistics, at least 20,000 patients die each year in German hospitals from additional infections contracted in the hospital. The figure of
undetected and unreported infections of this type is said to be much higher.

The comparative studies in Leipzig also put the micro-organism Pseudomonas aeruginosa (a bacterium found in damp environments and water splashes/pools), Staphylococcus aureus (a resistant bacterium to be found in dry environments) and Candida albicans (a human pathogenic fungus) under the spotlight, or to be more precise, under the microscope. It became evident during the empirical
research that the survival rate of the above bacteria on plastic was almost double the survival rate on stainless steel. In order to obtain a control for the experiment and to expand the range of comparative materials, the researchers in Leipzig extended their work to include glass as a known, neutral material. It was also apparent that the mortality rate of the bacterium on glass was almost double the mortality rate on plastic.
Reiser, Gert