The cleaning industry has responded to news that a new drug-resistant bacteria, NDM-1,has emerged.

An article published in the medical journal The Lancet, suggests NDM-1 initially spread in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, but has also been found in 37 patients from the UK who travelled to Asia for medical procedures such as cosmetic surgery.

Chairman of the British Cleaning Council commented: “The potential of NDM-1 to become a worldwide public health problem is great, making the role of hygiene even more important in our daily lives. Regular hand-washing and surface cleaning are two of the simplest but most effective ways to halt the spread of germs.”

Andrew Large, chief executive of the Cleaning and Support Services Association, stressed the importance of general cleanliness in hospital environments: “The everyday cleaning that takes place in hospitals becomes absolutely critical when the threat of new superbug arises. As well as demanding extra care from members of the public towards their own hygiene, we ask that the NHS guarantee that hospital cleaning does not suffer at this critical time as result of the financial pressures facing the health service.”