The Hidden Risks and Hazards of Medical Textile Materials

Medical protective textiles not only play a role in safeguarding health but, driven by advances in material technology, are gradually developing more functionalities to meet the diverse needs of the healthcare industry. With the widespread use of medical textiles in the fight against the pandemic, outsourced laundry services have become a common choice for hospitals. However, recent reports have revealed some worrying issues, sparking widespread social concern.

A report from the Beijing News exposed problems at a laundry facility of a top-tier hospital in Jiangxi province, such as mixing medical fabrics, substandard washing quality, and inadequate disinfection processes. These issues highlight the potential risks of outsourcing medical textile laundering. In some laundry facilities, industrial detergents are used instead of strict high-temperature disinfection to improve efficiency, which may allow pathogens to survive on the textiles. Even more concerning is the possibility that pediatric and adult patients' fabrics may be mixed during laundering, which could lead to cross-departmental infections.

This is not the first time such problems have surfaced. Over the past 20 years, there have been cases where improper washing and disinfection of medical textiles have led to the spread of infections. In Taiwan, two laundry workers contracted SARS, with one of them sadly passing away. In the UK, Bacillus cereus infections were linked to contaminated towels during the summer. In the U.S., hospital infection cases have also been associated with contaminated hospital linens. Similarly, a hospital in Hong Kong experienced a mucormycosis outbreak after patients came into contact with medical textiles from a Shum Wan laundry facility.

Although such infection and fatality cases are relatively rare, multidrug-resistant microorganisms can survive on textiles for weeks, potentially harboring and spreading pathogens. Contaminated medical fabrics carry a certain level of infectious risk, requiring standardized washing and disinfection processes, along with strict management regulations.
These cases remind us that China’s medical textile laundering and management face a series of challenges, which threaten hospital infection control and patient safety. Although national health authorities have issued policies and regulations, such as the "Technical Specifications for Medical Textile Washing and Disinfection" and the "Basic Standards and Management Specifications for Medical Disinfection Supply Centers (Trial)," the problems remain serious, with the safety of both patients and healthcare workers still at risk. The root causes of these issues include the following:

Policies Are Not Mandatory, Resulting in Flexibility 

While guidelines have been issued, they are still advisory and not yet mandatory, leading to considerable flexibility in actual implementation. Additionally, the policies require a long buffer period for execution, as it may take at least two years to replace materials for surgical medical textiles.

Lack of Attention from Hospital 

Leadership In some hospitals, the cost of laundering medical textiles represents only a tiny fraction of the overall budget, leading to insufficient attention from leadership regarding the washing and disinfection of medical textiles. Compared to infection control measures for medical devices, the infection risks associated with medical textiles are often underestimated.

Closed Outsourcing Market for Medical Textiles 

The outsourcing market for medical textiles lacks market openness and is nearly a closed business. Even if a laundry company wins a contract to handle a hospital's medical textiles, it may struggle to have an equal dialogue with the hospital, leading to issues with regulation and management.
While the journey to improving infection control in medical textiles may be long, advances in textile technology will enable medical protective textiles to develop more functionalities to meet the diverse needs of medical environments. For instance, Yuanli MOFA’s medical fabrics use internationally advanced technology to absorb and destroy microbial membranes through ionization reactions, effectively breaking down odors. Additionally, these products’ physical structure can block and prevent viral transmission while remaining non-irritating to the skin. They also offer good breathability, allowing heat to escape quickly, improving the wearer’s comfort.

In the future, we can expect more innovative medical protective textiles to emerge, enhancing efficiency and safety in the healthcare sector.