Covid-19 Archives - Doctorclean

New insights into COVID-19 disinfection

admin — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 02:01:15 +0000

Whether or not a disinfectant is effective against a certain type of virus depends, among other reasons, on the structure of the virus, Steinmann explains: ‘Coronavirus is covered by a lipid membrane which stores proteins. This makes it susceptible to alcohol-based disinfectants because they destroy the membrane and inactivate the virus.’ If this membrane is missing, as, for instance, is the case with norovirus, other agents need to be used for disinfection.

The use of UV radiation has proved effective against such non-enveloped types of virus because it attacks the nucleic acids (RNA) of the virus. In concrete terms, this means that agents classed as having a limited virucidal effect are perfectly adequate for the inactivation of Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. However, as more resistant agents, such as the aforementioned norovirus, are also present in a clinical environment, the use of more potent agents (classed as ‘virucidal’ or ‘limited virucidal plus’) may also be of benefit.

Effective disinfection should be carried out on all surfaces which have potential contact with the virus: work surfaces and surfaces close to patients, beds, and medical equipment. Current studies on SARS-CoV-2 confirm the presence of the virus – or at least its RNA – in many locations in a room where an infected patient had been accommodated: the edges of the bed, light switches, door handles, but also toilet seats, remote controls and pillows. ‘This shows that the virus is spread almost everywhere in the room via contact with hands as well as through the smallest droplets,’ Steinmann says. ‘However, thorough cleaning and disinfection can reliably deactivate the virus.’

Laboratory lifespan of SARS-CoV-2 gives indications

One of the central issues which researchers worldwide are examining concerns the lifespan of the new coronavirus on surfaces. Whilst initial calculations are mainly based on experience with the related virus types SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, newer studies provide reliable figures on COVID-19 pathogen SARS-CoV-2: ‘One study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, is of particular interest,’ says Steinmann. ‘US researchers examined for how long the virus survived on different materials, including copper, carton, steel and plastic surfaces. The results showed that in some cases, the virus is still present and active after several days. Everyday items such as banknotes, handkerchiefs and masks were tested in another study published in the Lancet Microbe: ‘The virus was still present on the inside of masks after 7 days,’ says the virologist and adds: ‘Although these measurements were taken under laboratory conditions, they give us a pretty good idea of how long the virus can remain stable in everyday conditions.’

What role does temperature play?

Currently, researchers at the RUB under Junior Professor Dr Stephanie Pfänder are examining the effect of changes in room temperature on the lifespan of the virus. Scientists compared the surface stability of the virus at room temperatures of 4°C and 30°C. They found that the virus remains infectious on surfaces for roughly the same length of time in both hot and cold conditions. ‘The assumption had been that higher temperatures would lead to a lower transmission rate of SARS-CoV-2 in summer,’ says Pfänder. ’However, it appears that the stability of the virus on surfaces is not impacted by changes in temperature.’ A potentially lower rate of infection in summer could be due to other factors such as UV radiation and humidity though, says the virologist.

‘Less is more’ in private household

Steinmann emphasises that there should be different criteria for private households as opposed to hospitals: ‘In everyday life, normal hand washing – combined with social distancing and following the correct coughing etiquette – is usually completely sufficient. Disinfection is only required once there has actually been contact with an infected person.’ Steinmann explains, in terms of the explosive demand for disinfectants amongst private individuals as follows: ‘In many cases, this will have been impacted by a psychological effect: If you have a disinfectant at home, it makes you feel safe just in case. The actual use is then not actually that important.’

If private households reach for the ‘strong stuff’, i.e. a disinfectant, they may not be doing themselves a favour, warns the expert: ‘These agents are aggressive and can attack the skin if used regularly.’ Without comprehensive care, this can easily result in skin injuries.

Above article is obtain from Europe Healthcare, for more details, here’s the link: https://healthcare-in-europe.com/en/news/new-insights-into-sars-cov-2-surface-stability-temperature-susceptibility.html

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Pfizer’s new corona vaccine is 90% effective, and it may produce 1.3 billion doses in year 2021

admin — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 01:45:26 +0000

On November 9, Pfizer announced on its official website that the mRNA new crown vaccine candidate BNT162b2 developed in cooperation with the German company BioNTech has proven to be more than 90% effective, far higher than the 50% required by the FDA. Analysis of vaccinated persons and placebo patients (a total of 94 confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia) showed that the effective rate of the vaccine reached more than 90% 7 days after the vaccine was vaccinated twice at 21 days intervals, which means that Protection is available 28 days after starting the vaccination. BNT162b2 mainly targets the entire S protein of the virus. It obtained fast-track certification from the FDA in mid-July. It entered Phase III clinical trials on July 27 and has recruited 43,538 participants so far. As of November 8, 2020, 38,955 of the participants have received the second dose of candidate vaccine, covering patients of different races and backgrounds.

Pfizer said that clinical trials are continuing and it is expected to conduct a final analysis of 164 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and will also evaluate the efficacy of the second dose of vaccine 14 days after vaccination, as well as candidate vaccines in people who have been previously exposed to the COVID-19 environment. The potential to provide protection against severe COVID-19. In addition, the two companies also stated that they are working hard to prepare the necessary safety and production data to be submitted to the FDA to prove the safety and quality of the vaccine products produced, and are expected to produce up to 50 million doses worldwide by the end of 2020 Vaccines, up to 1.3 billion doses of vaccines will be produced by the end of 2021.

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Covid-19 prevention: When to sanitize your hands?

admin — Thu, 10 Sep 2020 08:08:12 +0000

In what situations should we sanitize our hands to prevent contagion of Covid-19 and other infectious diseases?

Hand hygiene, either with soap and water or with hydroalcoholic solutions, has become one of the main tools to stop the transmission of Covid-19.

But, are we clear when we should sanitize our hands? In this article we review the main situations in which it is essential to resort to this action.
Remember that whenever we have access to soap and water, it is advisable to wash our hands with these two elements before disinfecting them with hydroalcoholic solutions.

When leaving or entering a new space

Whenever we leave a space and enter a new one, we must sanitize our hands to avoid transferring microorganisms from one environment to another.
We do not necessarily have to change buildings or locations to wash our hands. We must resort to this action whenever we change the environment.
For example, in a food industry, despite being the changing rooms and the production room in the same building, we will sanitize our hands when leaving or accessing one of the two spaces.
Between processes or different activities

This time, without differentiating two spaces, we will pay attention to the activity that we develop.
Again, in a food industry, for example, we will wash our hands if we go from touching one raw material to another. This action, in addition to preventing the contagion of some diseases, is necessary for the control of allergens.
Another example would be to sanitize the hands after treating each patient in health care centers and in situations where gloves are not used.

After interacting with other people

When we interact with people outside the company, in addition to maintaining a safe distance and respecting other prevention regulations, it is important to sanitize our hands since, indirectly, we can touch contaminated surfaces.
For example, when we sign a delivery note to the transport staff or when we receive a raw material.
In these cases, it is important that the hands are sanitized by both parties.

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