[The Gastein Healing Gallery and a Potential Risk of Viral Infections in the Treatment Area]. / Der Gasteiner Heilstollen und eine mögliche Ansteckungsgefahr im Therapiebereich mit Viren.

The SARS-CoV­2 has infected millions of humans worldwide in the past few months and hundreds of thousands have died as a result of an infection. The end of the pandemic is not in sight and many people are anxious of becoming infected in different settings. The Gastein Healing Gallery (GHG) is a unique outpatient facility combining heat, high humidity and mild radon radiation. Every year approximately 12,000 patients with inflammatory rheumatic, degenerative diseases and chronic pain are treated. We have therefore reviewed and analyzed the literature with respect to a possible increased risk of infection for patients during treatment in the GHG. On the one hand the climatic and physical conditions in the GHG can be viewed as hostile to viruses and on the other hand the mild radon hyperthermia and the geographic location of the GHG lead to positive effects on the patient's health via complex physiological processes. We therefore consider the likelihood of infection with viruses in the GHG in no way increased, in contrast, it is probably considerably lower compared to other settings.