Germicidal UV Light and Incidence of Acute Respiratory Infection in Long-Term Care for Older Adults

Can germicidal UV light (GUV) appliances in common spaces reduce the incidence of acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in long-term care facilities for older adults?In this randomized clinical trial that recorded 596 infections over 211 952 bed-days, GUV appliances did not result in a significant difference in the incidence rate per zone per cycle. When modeling ARIs across all cycles of the study, GUV appliances significantly reduced infections by 0.319 infections per week, equating to a 12.2% difference.The trial findings suggest that GUV appliances did not reduce the incidence rate of ARIs within study cycles but did significantly reduce the total numbers of ARIs among older adult residents of long-term care facilities.

Corresponding Author: Geraint B. Rogers, PhD, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia (geraint.rogers@sahmri.com).

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