Sterilization Services Market Size

Sterilization Services Market Analysis

The sterilization services market is expected to register a CAGR of 6.0% over the forecast period.

COVID-19 has impacted the growth of the sterilization services market. Sterilization was a key tool that was accessible to stop the spread of COVID-19 and directly combat SARS-CoV-2. For instance, according to an article published in the Environmental Science and Pollution Research, in May 2021, it was observed that sanitizers and disinfectants were crucial preventative measures to sterilize surfaces and equipment against coronavirus infection. The pandemic led to a shortage of filtering facepiece respirators due to which many healthcare institutions were forced to reuse FFRs after applying different decontamination methods including gamma-irradiation (GIR). For instance, as per an article published in Frontiers in Physics, in October 2021, it has been observed that CDC released emergency guidelines on the N95 decontamination methods and indicated that vapor hydrogen peroxide (VHP), ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) and moist heat had shown the most promising results in decontaminating the respirators (N95). This has increased the adoption of these methods to sterilize the equipment and respirators in hospital settings. Hence, COVID boosted the market growth and it expected to have stable growth in next 3-4 years.

Factors such as increased hospital-acquired infections, increasing technological advancements in the use of sterilization agents and equipment in industrial facilities, and growing awareness regarding cleanliness across all the facilities are boosting the market growth.

The rising prevalence of hospital-acquired infections is the key factor driving the market growth. For instance, according to the data published by the National and State HAI Progress 2021 Report, it has been observed that the HAI increased between 2020 and 2021, including a 14% increase in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), 12% in ventilator-associated events (VAE), 11% in surgical site infection (SSI-HYST), 7% in central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI), and 5% in catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI).

In addition, the increasing geriatric and pediatric population as well as the people in ICUs are at high risk of getting a healthcare-associated infection. This is anticipated to increase the demand for effectively sterilized medical equipment and other stuff, thereby boosting market growth. For instance, as per an article published in Annals of Intensive Care, in March 2022, it has been observed that intensive care unit (ICU) admissions among the elderly population are expected to increase with the increasing global population. In addition, as per the same source, patients aged 65 years or above constitute more ICU admissions, followed by people aged 80 years and 85 years old. Also, according to 2022 statistics published by UNPF, about 23% of the population living in Asia and the Pacific region is aged between 0-14 years, and 9% of the population is aged 65 years and over. Thus, the high aging population is expected to increase the demand for sterilized equipment, areas, rooms, and other stuff during their hospital stay to avoid further complications. This is anticipated to fuel the market growth over the forecast period.

Furthermore, the rising company activities in launching effective sterilizating services is expected to increase the market growth over the forecast period. For instance, in April 2022, Unimech Healthcare launched UniClean, an array of solutions to prevent 'Work Place Sickness' and 'Crowd Spread Infections'. It has a cloud-based technology that provides 99.99% virus free sterilization of air and surfaces in offices, industries, hospitals, and other places. Also, in June 2021, STERIS acquired Cantel. This acquisition assists the company to expand its product offering of infection prevention products and services primarily to endoscopy and dental areas.

Therefore, owing to the aforementioned factors, such as the high burden of hospital-acquired infections, growing ICU admission rates in aging population, and increasing product launches, the studied market is expected to grow over the forecast period. However, the harmful effects of certain chemical agents and the lack of availability of correct manuals to perform sterilization activities are likely to hamper the growth of the sterilization services market over the forecast period.