March 26, 2020 a researcher works on the diagnosis of suspected
coronavirus COVID-19 cases in Belo Horizonte, state of Minas
Gerais, Brazil. – Clinical trials in Brazil of a Chinese-made
vaccine against COVID-19 have shown “promising” results, and a
widespread vaccination campaign could begin as early as December,
the governor of Sao Paulo state said on September 9, 2020. (Photo
by Douglas MAGNO / AFP)
The coronavirus remains active on human skin for nine
hours, Japanese researchers have found, in a discovery they said
showed the need for frequent hand washing to combat the Covid-19
pandemic.
The pathogen that causes the flu survives on human skin for
about 1.8 hours by comparison, said the study published this month
in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal.
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“The nine-hour survival of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus strain that
causes Covid-19) on human skin may increase the risk of contact
transmission in comparison with IAV (influenza A virus), thus
accelerating the pandemic,” it said.
The research team tested skin collected from autopsy specimens,
about one day after death.
Both the coronavirus and the flu virus are inactivated within 15
seconds by applying ethanol, which is used in hand sanitisers.
“The longer survival of SARS-CoV-2 on the skin increases
contact-transmission risk; however, hand hygiene can reduce this
risk,” the study said.
The study backs World Health Organization guidance for regular
and thorough hand washing to limit transmission of the virus, which
has infected nearly 40 million people around the world since it
first emerged in China late last year.
AFP
Read more https://swordpress.com.ng/2020/10/18/coronavirus-survives-on-skin-five-times-longer-than-flu-study/