The virus that causes COVID-19 can survive on banknotes, glass and stainless steel for up to 28 days, much longer than the flu virus, Australian researchers said yesterday, highlighting the need for cleaning and handwashing to combat the virus.
Findings from the study done by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation appear to show that in a very controlled environment the virus remained infectious for longer than other studies have found.
Researchers from the Australian national science agency found that at 20°C, SARS-CoV remained infectious for 28 days on smooth surfaces, such as plastic banknotes and glass found on mobile phone screens. The study was published in Virology Journal.
Photo: AFP
By comparison, the influenza A virus has been found to survive on surfaces for 17 days.
“It really reinforces the importance of washing hands and sanitizing where possible and certainly wiping down surfaces that may be in contact with the virus,” lead researcher Shane Riddell said.
The study involved drying virus in an artificial mucus on a range of surfaces at concentrations similar to samples from COVID-19 patients and then recovering the virus over a month.
Experiments done at 20, 30 and 40°C showed the virus survived longer at cooler temperatures, longer on smooth surfaces than on complex surfaces such as cotton, and longer on paper banknotes than on plastic banknotes.
“So heading into summer that’s certainly going to be an important factor that the virus won’t last as long in the warmer temperatures,” Riddell said, referring to the upcoming southern hemisphere summer.
All the experiments were done in the dark to remove the impact of ultraviolet light, as research has shown direct sunlight can kill the virus.
“So in the real world results would likely be shorter than what we were able to show,” Riddell said.
Researchers said given that proteins and fats in body fluids can also sharply increase virus survival times, their study might help explain the apparent persistence and spread of the virus in cool environments such as meat-packing facilities.
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