The new coronavirus can exist many hours on human skin if left undisturbed, a new study has found. The studies have shown that Covid-19 transmission largely occurs via sprinkles or droplets, the authors of the new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases said, “Proper hand hygiene is important to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infections.”
To avoid Infections, researchers conducted lab experiments using cadaver skin that would otherwise have been used for skin grafts. A virus survived less than two hours on human skin, the novel coronavirus survived for more than nine hours. Both were completely inactivated within 15 seconds by hand sanitizer containing 80 percent alcohol. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends using an alcohol-based hand rubs or thoroughly washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Researchers have said the average face mask may be uncomfortable but does not limit the flow of oxygen to the lungs, even in people with severe lung diseases, Reuters stated in a report.
The effect of wearing surgical masks on the gas exchange – the process by which the body adds oxygen to the blood while removing carbon dioxide – in 15 healthy physicians and 15 military veterans with severely impaired lungs via a quick-paced six-minute walk on a flat, hard surface.Oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood were measured before and after the walking test. Neither the healthy doctors nor the patients with diseased lungs showed any major changes in gas exchange measurements after the walking test or up to 30 minutes later.
Mask discomfort is likely not due to re-breathing of carbon dioxide and decreases in oxygen levels, the researchers reported in the journal Thorax. Masks may be causing discomfort by irritating sensitive facial nerves, warming inhaled air, or inducing feelings of claustrophobia. Any such discomfort should not cause safety concerns, researchers said.
Post Your Comments