Antibiotic Neckties Choke Germs

Nemours Enterprise
Thursday, May 10, 2007 @ 09:39 AM EDT
by: Diana Middleton
The Florida Times-Union

Yes, your necktie may be as crucial to your office life as your briefcase. But it may also be loaded with bacteria, say the founders of a St. Augustine company.

The company, SafeSmart, is marketing a line of 24 necktie designs processed with an anti-microbial coating, under the banner of SafetyTies. The ties, when bought individually at the company's website, cost $44.95; wholesale prices range from $19.95 to $25.95, depending on volume. (Ties bought online typically retail from $25 to $40.)

Manufactured overseas, SafetyTies are coated with a microscopic barrier that forms a Teflon-like resistance to germs that normally nest in fabric fibers, according to April Strider, president and chief executive officer of SafeSmart.

GETTING STARTED

So far, business has been slow going, with just 30 ties sold in March, Strider said. But the company's challenge is to cultivate a steady consumer base in the medical community — since doctors neckties may be victims of splashy sneezes — as well as restaurant workers and cruise ship employees.

There is some evidence to back Strider's assertions: During a 2004 American Society for Microbiology conference, researchers presented a study measuring the amount of germs found on physicians neckties, said Jim Sliwa, a spokesman for the organization.

The study, presented by Steve Nurkin of the New York Hospital Medical Center in Queens, found that 47.6 percent of the neckties worn by clinicians harbor potential pathogens, while one in eight neckties harbored wellknown hospital-acquired bacteria.

DON'T PANIC

Although the study noted, "there is no direct evidence to implicate neckties in the transmission of infection to patients," nearly 2 million people contract infections while hospitalized per year, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

Meanwhile, neckties are among the least likely of apparel items to be dry cleaned, according to Jay Calleja, director of communications for International Fabricare Institute, a trade association for dry cleaners. For one thing, the shape can become puckered and distorted with dry cleaning and hefty stain removal can cause the colors to bleed.

"I don't even think Ive dry cleaned a tie myself," Calleja said.

"And because ties are not on the body, they're over clothes, Im not sure people feel the need," Calleja added.

Samir Midani, chief of Nemours Division of Infectious Diseases, is skeptical about the ties ability to eradicate germs.

"If you have a shirt thats full of germs, I'm not sure how much good it will do," he said.

Strider said the ties research, marketing and offshore manufacturing has required an investment of $55,000 for 5,000 ties.

The ties, which were manufactured in China, are available in 24 patterns that Strider, as well as her business partner, Cindy Toole, chose over a meal at the International House of Pancakes.

"We not only had to find designs that appealed to men, but also to women, since they do the majority of necktie shopping," Strider said.

To rev the products marketing, Strider sent gratis SafetyTies to 100 infectious disease specialists in nearly all 50 states.

WILL DICKEY/AP

NECK PROTECTION: April Strider, president and chief executive officer of SafeSmart, holds anti-germ neckties that her company sells online.

modified: Monday, August 06, 2007 @ 09:40 AM EDT
created: Monday, August 06, 2007 @ 09:40 AM EDT

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Nemours, one of the nation’s largest pediatric health systems, is dedicated to achieving higher standards in children’s health. Nemours offers an integrated spectrum of clinical treatment coupled with research, advocacy, and educational health and prevention services extending to all families in the communities it serves. Starting with Alfred I. duPont’s bequest over seventy years ago, Nemours has grown into a multi-dimensional organization offering personalized clinical and preventive care focused on children.

Nemours owns and operates the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware and major children’s specialty clinics in Delaware (Wilmington), Florida (Jacksonville, Orlando and Pensacola), Pennsylvania (Philadelphia and Bryn Mawr) and New Jersey (Atlantic City and Voorhees). Having recently received preliminary approval from the State of Florida, Nemours will establish a new full-service children’s hospital as part of an integrated pediatric health campus in Orlando. KidsHealth.org, the world’s most visited pediatric health care Web site for parents, kids and teens, is a project of Nemours.

Nemours employs over 4,400 individuals, including 430 pediatric physicians, specialists and surgeons who cared for approximately a quarter of a million children in 2007. The organization’s goal is to align with parents, physicians, community leaders, children’s advocates and elected officials to ensure optimal wellness for every child. Additional information about Nemours can be found at www.nemours.org.