An international group of scientists from the United States, Great Britain and Switzerland has proven that when exposed to sunlight, the SARS-COV-2 coronavirus is quickly inactivated. The benefits of daylight reported in an article published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases. Briefly about the study describes the press release on MedicalXpress.
According to the theory of inactivating the virus with solar radiation, ultraviolet in (wavelength 315-280 nanometers) affects the RNA of the virus, damaging it. However, experiments demonstrated that the inactivation of the virus occurs much faster than predicts the theory, and is only 10-20 minutes. Thus, the authors of the study concluded that there is an additional mechanism, mediated the effect of light on SARS-COV-2.
While the authors do not know exactly what it may be for the mechanism, but it is assumed that, in addition to ultraviolet B, ultraviolet A (UV-A) can be involved with a wavelength of 400-315 nanometers, which can generate a reactive Molecules, damaging the virus and accelerating inactivation. The influence of the medium in which viruses live was also confirmed by experiments. For example, in the imitation of saliva, the virus was inactivated eight times faster, and those viruses that were cultivated on a nutrient medium, three times faster than the theory predicted.
Ultraviolet A can be used in air filtration systems in rooms with a much smaller risk for a person than other subtypes of ultraviolet radiation. LED lamps are also available, which are stronger than ordinary sunlight. However, additional research is needed to confirm the benefit of UV-A against SARS-COV-2.