Wuhan coronavirus : AirPHX non-thermal plasma technology to protect from deadly virus

AirPHX said that an independent testing lab has confirmed that its non-thermal plasma technology is highly effective in protecting people from potential exposure to the Wuhan coronavirus or novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

The technology from airPHX can be scaled for the treatment of air and surfaces in large facilities like hospitals, hotels, airports, schools, and other public areas.

The company said that validation has been done by independent lab testing over four log reductions in surface viruses and antibiotic resistant bacteria in 30 minutes on surfaces having corresponding reductions in airborne organisms.

AirPHX said that deployment of its technology in US hospitals has delivered 95% reductions in airborne and surfaces organisms in active patient environments. Included in these are clinical data that back drastic reductions in healthcare-associated infections.

According to the company, public health is being challenged by antimicrobial-resistant pathogens as they are hard to detect unless active cases start to present, with risk increasing in addition to lengthy incubation periods.

Detection can be delayed further when cases are not associated immediately with the surfacing of a particular virus.  Available methods to address global catastrophic biological risks (GCBRs) include respiratory masks that are ineffective, costly and dangerous cleaning chemicals, and also the isolation of suspected infected people, said airPHX.

Wuhan coronavirus : AirPHX non-thermal plasma technology to protect from deadly virus. Photo courtesy of Chinanews.com / China News Service / Wikipedia.org.

The risks are evident with revelations of the recent outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus, which are exacerbated by travel across different countries and trade and insufficient pandemic preparedness capability, said the company.

airPHX claimed that its technology offers a method of handling GCBR risks in active public settings.

Dr. Rick Falkenberg – of Scientific Air Solutions said: “Viruses possess higher capacity for genetic mutability due to both the structure of their genomes and the generation time for replication in which large numbers of progeny virus are created each day.

“Additionally, the inability of a virus to be countered with a broad-spectrum antiviral compared with bacteria, fungi, and parasites makes viruses the more likely cause of a GCBR. Within the viral class, RNA viruses merit special concern chiefly because of their higher mutability compared to DNA viruses.

“Treatment via the airPHX system attacks the virus and bacterial cell wall allowing for complete destruction and no further RNA/DNA resistance mutation.”

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