The light at the end of the tunnel for the COVID-19 pandemic might just be overhead.
A new medical-research” target=”_blank”>study<.
“Far-UVC rapidly reduces the amount of active microbes in the indoor air to almost zero, making indoor air essentially as safe as outdoor air,” said co-author Dr. David Brenner, director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
PERMANENT DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME MAY BE HARMFUL TO OUR HEALTH, EXPERTS SAY
“Using this technology in locations where people gather together indoors could prevent the next potential pandemic.”
UV lamp on the wall.
The joint study by scientists at Columbia University and in the U.K. suggests far-UVC light installed in ceiling lamps can reduce the risk of the next pandemic by effectively reducing airborne indoor transmission of infectious diseases known to cause major outbreaks, such as COVID-19 or influenza.
But the statement notes that far-UVC is a relatively new technology.
Although it’s been mental-health” target=”_blank”>known< far-UVC kills airborne bacteria and viruses without damaging living tissue as the germs are much smaller than human cells, but the studies up to this point were confided in experimental chambers that never mimicked the real-world setting, according to the press release.
LONG COVID SYMPTOMS MAY DEPEND ON THE VARIANT A PERSON CONTRACTED
The current study tested the efficacy of far-UVC light in a chamber the size of a large indoor room that had an equivalent ventilation rate as a typical home or office, which is approximately three air changes per hour.
Researchers continuously sprayed a bacteria called Staphylococcus aureus until the concentration of the microbes stabilized, then turned on overhead far-UVC lamps.
They choose this particular bacteria versus coronavirus, because it is slightly less healthy-living” target=”_blank”>sensitive<
“Far-UVC light is simple to install, it’s inexpensive, it doesn’t need people to change their behavior, and evidence from multiple studies suggests it may be a safe way to prevent the transmission of any virus, including the COVID virus and its variants, as well as influenza and also any potential future pandemic viruses,” Brenner said.
