Game-Changer Lamps Could Neutralize Deadly Viruses (Including Coronavirus!)

Researchers have discovered that the use of far-UVC lamps can reduce pathogen levels by 98% in just a few minutes, meaning that pandemics such as the coronavirus that afflicted us all could soon be a thing of the past.

“We were pretty gobsmacked at the reduction in the pathogen,” says Ewan Eadie, one of the researchers studying the efficiency of far-UVC against deadly infections including SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

Far-UVC is a light with a wavelength between 200 and 230 nanometers (nm) – invisible to the human eye – that is deadly for microbes and safe for human beings. The idea would be to add those far-UVC lamps to the array of tools meant to disinfect indoor spaces. At 254 nm, the spread of airborne pathogens is slowed down. Therefore, it could inactivate viruses in the short time it takes to travel from an infected person – speaking or coughing – to a healthy individual nearby.