Intro
Do all disinfectants kill the COVID-19 Cornoavirus?
According to Chemical and Engineering news, the novel virus COVID-19 Coronavirus is relatively easy to de-activate if the correct ingredients are formulated in sanitizers and surface sprays.
Benefits
As published by CEN – 13.3.20
The spread of the coronavirus disease COVID-19 has spurred a surge in sales of cleaning and disinfection products. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends regular cleaning of frequently touched surfaces, along with thorough hand washing—both standard practices for helping slow the spread of viruses and bacteria. But consumers will be disappointed if they go looking for a product that specifically promises to kill SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
On March 3, the EPA released a list of antimicrobial products for use against SARS-CoV-2, under an emerging viral pathogens program developed for just this kind of scenario. (The EPA regulates antimicrobial products as pesticides.) Under the program, which was introduced in 2016 and activated for the first time in January, makers of disinfectants can request approval to claim a product is expected to kill a particular virus based on its ability to kill similar viruses. Once an outbreak has been identified and the identity of the virus is confirmed by the CDC, approved products are temporarily permitted to distribute information about using the product for the emerging pathogen. The claim appears in a standard format such as: [Product name] has demonstrated effectiveness against viruses similar to SARS-CoV-2 on hard, nonporous surfaces. Therefore, [product name] can be used against SARS-CoV-2 when used in accordance with the directions for use.
Enveloped viruses like SARS-CoV-2—which rely on a protective lipid coating—are the easiest type to deactivate. In contrast with many gastrointestinal viruses like norovirus which have a tough protein shell called a capsid, viruses with this fatty wrapping are relatively vulnerable.
“It’s much more sensitive. It’s sort of a wimpy protective shell,” says virologist Seema Lakdawala of the University of Pittsburgh.
There are a few ways to burst this flimsy shell. Alcohol-based products disintegrate the protective lipids. Quaternary ammonium disinfectants, commonly used in health-care and food-service industries, attack protein and lipid structures, thwarting the pathogen’s typical mode of infection. Bleach and other potent oxidizers swiftly break down a virus’s essential components.