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Sunlight can destroy the corona virus much faster than we thought

A new study finds that solar radiation can destroy the corona virus 8 times faster than scientists have thought so far.

If they are right, this is really good news for all of us

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• radiation

• sun

• Corona

• covid-19

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health

Monday, 05 April 2021, 08:36 Updated: 09:05

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In the video: Corona tests in China (Photo: Reuters)

Sunlight may be a very significant weak point for the corona virus, far more so than researchers initially estimated.

It has long been known that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is responsible for the global corona epidemic, cannot survive on surfaces exposed to sunlight (this has been tested in laboratory conditions, with the help of exposure to artificial light).

But a team of researchers from the University of California at Santa Barbara now claims that the effect of sunlight - and specifically UV radiation, on the corona virus is even more powerful than previously estimated.

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Last July, an important study was published that showed that artificial sunlight "quickly disables the SARS-CoV-2 virus on surfaces."

The researchers' estimates in this study determined that 90 percent of the corona virus (inside an artificial saliva sample) was destroyed every 6.8 minutes when exposed to artificial light that simulated exposure to sunlight on a clear summer day at sea level.

One month after the publication of the findings of this experiment, another study was published, featuring a theoretical model that described the process of destroying the corona virus by exposure to sunlight.

Good news for all of us?

Woman with mask on Spanish beach, July 2020 (Photo: ShutterStock)

But researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, the University of Oregon, the University of Manchester and the Zurich Institute of Technology are now claiming in a paper published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases that there is a mismatch between these research data and reality.

In fact, they say the virus is destroyed much faster by solar radiation than theoretical models have hypothesized.

How much faster?

8 times

to explain this difference between the prediction models and the results in the laboratory, they suggest that we look beyond UVB radiation - which is the stronger radiation and which also causes skin burns when exposed to the sun, and we will also start referring to UVA radiation, the lower energy component in solar radiation. And that exposure to it causes skin aging.

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"The theory assumes that solar radiation neutralizes the virus with the help of UVB radiation that damages the RNA (genetic material) of the virus and damages it. People tend to think that UVA radiation is less harmful, but it may interact here with some of the molecules," Paulo Luzzatto explained. Shell, a senior researcher in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Santa Barbara and who led this study.

8 times more effective than scientists predicted in destroying the corona virus.

Burning sun (Photo: ShutterStock)

The article he and his colleagues published is currently based solely on theory, they themselves did not conduct their own experiments.

But only sought explanations for the significant gap between the data from the study of the study published in July and the theoretical model published shortly thereafter.

"Scientists do not really know what is happening, at the moment. What our research is doing is highlighting the need for further research and experiments that will separately examine the specific effects of light waves of varying lengths on the composition of the virus," Luzzatto-Pagiz explained.

If the researchers are right, and the effect of solar radiation on the corona virus is indeed more powerful, then this is great news for all of us.

In hospitals and other places with high exposure to the virus, air purification systems based on UVC radiation are used to destroy viruses.

This radiation is even stronger than UVB, but most of the energy produced by this wavelength is absorbed and stopped in the Earth's ozone layer, so the only way to produce it is artificially.

New and inexpensive disinfection methods

"UVC radiation is an excellent means for hospitals, but in other places like kitchens or public transportation stations, it can release harmful ozone particles into the air," explained one of the researchers who signed the new study, Julie McMurry.

Compared to UVC, UVA radiation is something that is easy to produce artificially and at low cost with the help of LED bulbs that have a significantly higher intensity than natural sunlight.

If it turns out that UVA radiation is indeed the missing piece in this puzzle, it can be easily added to air purification systems and applied in various disinfection methods that can significantly slow down the spread of the corona virus in enclosed spaces.

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