If you were also waiting to hear about a new method of fighting the COVID pandemic, we’re glad to inform you that new antimicrobial air filters that were tested on trains have shown the ability to rapidly kill the coronavirus. The air filters will even do their job in a matter of seconds! University of Birmingham researchers, along with the firms known as Pullman AC and NitroPep Ltd, are the ones responsible for creating it.
The big news comes from the University of Birmingham’s website itself, granting a lot of hope in the fight against the spread of airborne infections, not just COVID. Chlorhexidine digluconate (CHDG) was also used along with the antimicrobial treatment for air filters.
NitroPep Ltd prepares to deliver the filters as market products
There shouldn’t be too long until we get to see the filters on the market.
Dr. Felicity de Cogan, the Royal Academy of Engineering Industry Fellow at the University of Birmingham, stated as quoted by the University of Birmingham:
Most ventilation systems recycle air through the system, and the filters currently being used in these systems are not normally designed to prevent the spread of pathogens, only to block air particles. This means filters can actually act as a potential reservoir for harmful pathogens. We are excited that we have been able to develop a filter treatment which can kill bacteria, fungi and viruses – including SARS-CoV-2 – in seconds. This addresses a global un-met need and could help clean the air in enclosed spaces, helping to prevent the spread of respiratory disease.
The scientist also emphasized the possibility of infection with COVID and flu-like illnesses in crowded places, whether they’re offices, public transport, shopping malls, and so on. He also said that the ongoing pandemic had raised the need for new ways of controlling the spread of respiratory pathogens.
The new study was published in Scientific Reports.
