Disposable medical supplies - the foolproof path to infection control

In medical and healthcare history, the present era would be noted for the advances and emphasis laid on infection control. Though hospitals and clinics are the places you go to for getting treated from various illnesses, they are also the most potent sources of infection. The various medical supplies and equipment used in any public healthcare setting can be a host to millions of infection causing agents. According to some reports, Nosocomial infections (infections contracted in healthcare units) account to almost a million deaths in USA alone, and the situation is worse in developing and under-developed countries. These depressing statistics just reiterates the importance of disposable medical supplies in curbing infections.
The biggest advantage of disposable medical supplies is that almost all disposable medical products from any medical supply store are single use, which almost completely eliminates cross contamination. For instance, disposable masks played a major role in containing the recent H1N1 (swine flu) infection. The availability of sterile, individually-packed medical products is another benefit of disposable medical goods. In an age when use of unsterilized products can cause deadly infections like HIV and Hepatitis, ensuring that the doctor or nurse use a freshly opened sterile needle can give immense peace of mind. Use of sterile disposable supplies in operation theaters has allegedly reduced post-operative infections and deaths by almost 80%. Moreover, there are times when using disposable supplies is the only viable options, wound dressing for instance. Cleaning and sterilizing the cotton swabs, tourniquet, gauge, dressing, etc., is not at all practical, making wound clinics one of the largest consumer of disposable medical supplies.
Many might argue about the virtues of conventional autoclaving and other means of sterilizing reusable medical supplies. However, one cannot be more wrong in placing complete faith in these conventional techniques. Let me explain why: autoclaving is a technique that involves heating medical supplies and equipment at high heat (above 121oC) in a high pressure chamber. These autoclaving machines were invented over a century ago when medical science was very much in its infancy. Though the medical care techniques have changed drastically, the autoclaving technique has not. There are many disadvantages of this technique:
Due to the high heat involved, not all medical products can be autoclaved. Medical products made of plastic are especially sensitive to autoclaving.
Since a full fledge autoclave machine is required to bring about complete sterilization of the medical supplies and equipment, autoclave is not an economically viable option for home care settings.
Many studies have proved that autoclaving might not be foolproof, and certain prions (cause mad cow disease) are not destroyed even after autoclaving.
The cumulative cost of the machine, personnel training, and energy consumption makes autoclaving a costly option in the long run.
These factors and many more have made healthcare professionals around the world to opt for disposable medical supplies as a foolproof way to prevent cross contamination and protect both their staff and the patients from deadly infections.