Effective Nasal Disinfection as an Overlooked Strategy in Our Fight against COVID-19.

Although the recent advent of a vaccine and other therapeutic aids in our fight against COVID-19 has brought us a step closer to controlling the pandemic, our fight is far from over. Handwashing, masks, and social distancing practices are considered reasonable measures to control the spread of the disease have been well accepted by government officials and public health officials despite scarce and conflicting scientific evidence. Taking into consideration the aforementioned measures, there is an additional perhaps overlooked practice that warrants our attention-nasal disinfection and hygiene.

Estimation of infection fields and pathways for SARS-CoV-2 and its variant based on the relationship among dose-response function parameter, quantum emission rate, and basic reproductive number

The theoretical model of the relationship among dose-response function parameters, quantum emission rate, and basic reproductive number for SARS-CoV-2 was constructed. Then, using this model, infection fields and pathways for SARS-CoV-2 and its variant were estimated. The parameters of the time activity, the number of contacts by the microenvironments and groups, and the COVID-19 risk from multiple pathways in near and far fields were used. Consequently, in lower transmissibility, droplet spray transmission in the near field was dominant, whereas in higher transmissibility, transmission from inhalation of smaller aerosols in the far field was dominant. Moreover, it was suggested that transmission from droplet spray, indirect contacts, and inhalation of smaller aerosols in the near field and inhalation of smaller aerosols in the far field was dominant for the wild-type strain, while transmission from inhalation of smaller aerosols in the far field were dominant for the Delta variant. © 2022 17th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate, INDOOR AIR 2022. All rights reserved.

Considering Covid-19 Treatments as Applied to Facility Seating: Developing a Methodology to Examine Adverse Surface Color Effects

During Covid-19, a facility management researcher/instructor team examined potential effects of various disinfectant treatments on the surface appearance of furniture currently located in their academic facility. Treatments (i.e., bleach wipes, alcohol wipes, disinfectant sprays and UltraViolet wands) are used by students, staff, faculty, visitors, facility managers and custodians in an effort to reduce spread of Corona. Further, EMist© with Vital Oxide treatments were regularly applied by University-contracted facility maintenance staff during study period. While procedures exist for measuring color change regarding light exposure and changes due to abrasion, no current published methods were found regarding surface color before and after Covid-19 intervention treatments. Researchers/instructors anticipate findings from study would inform facility management and other courses. They anticipate results would allow generalizability to hospitality and healthcare. Changes in surface color of upholstered furniture in facilities may be extremely negative regarding interior aesthetics, corporate image, and replacement costs. Therefore, it was determined there was a great need to study the effects of treatments and inform facility stakeholders. Researchers posited that Covid-19 intervention treatments may alter surface color of upholstered furniture over time. The purpose of the study was to develop methodology to examine color degradation that may be caused by agents used in common disinfecting practices. Three seating pieces (drafting chair, drafting stool, classroom chair) made of different materials were studied. Five treatments were applied to each furniture piece at regular intervals over an 8-week period. Researchers measured color before and after treatments. The procedures were photo-documented and videotaped to capture treatments in-process and to support future educational presentations. Preliminary findings revealed limited variability in color changes. Future research should consider other seating and room-finish materials, disinfectants and treatments, facility types, and timeframes.

Disinfecting Efficacy of an Ozonated Water Spray Chamber: Scientific Evidence of the Total and Partial Biocidal Effect on Personal Protective Equipment and in Vitro Analysis of a Viral Experimental Model

Due to the high recurrence of microbial infections, developing new technologies for preventing the dissemination of pathogens is essential, especially to prevent infection in humans. Thus, devices for the decontamination of surfaces reduce not only the spread of pathogens in the environment, but provide greater security and protection for communities. Ozone (O3) is a substance capable of reducing or eliminating several types of microorganisms owing to its biocidal capacity, including when it is dissolved in water. The objective of this study was to develop an instant decontamination device using ozonated water. To confirm its biocidal action and verify the device's efficacy, the reduction of the microbial load of important pathogens on personal protective equipment (PPE) was assessed. In addition, in order to confirm the biocidal action of ozonated water against SARS-CoV-2, in vitro tests on a viral model of Gammacoronavirus were performed. The results showed the efficacy of ozonated water in the disinfection device at concentration ranges of 0.3–0.6 mg/L and 0.7–0.9 mg/L of ozonated water, with growth reductions above 2 log10 for both concentration ranges tested and inactivation fractions above 60% (0.3–0.6 mg/L) and 80% (0.7–0.9 mg/L), with a high proportion of the tested PPE showing 100% microbial reduction. In vitro results for the evaluation of ozonated water in a viral model showed a 99.9% reduction percentage in the concentration range of 0.3 to 0.5 mg/L and a 99% reduction in the concentration range of 0.6 to 0.8 mg/L, with a 5.10 log EDI50/mL and 6.95 log EDI50/mL reduction, respectively. The instant decontamination system developed in this study proved effective for microbial reduction, and we confirmed the potential of ozonated water as a biocidal agent. Therefore, the proposed decontamination device could be considered as a tool for reducing contamination on surfaces using ozonated water.

Infectious bronchitis hatchery vaccination: comparison of traditional spray administration and a newly developed gel delivery system in field conditions

Proper control of infectious bronchitis, pursued through strict biosecurity and mass vaccination, is essential in intensive broiler production. Despite effective and routinely adopted, hatchery spray vaccination has been hypothesized to affect body temperature and wellbeing of day-old chicks. Recently, gel administration has been proposed as an alternative and proved feasible in experimental settings. In this study, IBV spray and gel vaccination were compared in field conditions. One hundred birds from the same hatch were vaccinated, half by spray and half by gel, with 793B and Mass vaccines. After vaccination, rectal temperature was measured and vaccine intake assessed. The two groups were raised for 35 days in separate pens, and swabs and blood samples were collected at multiple time points for lineage-specific molecular analyses and serology, respectively. Temperature was significantly lower in spray vaccinated chicks 10 minutes and an hour after administration. A similar trend in 793B titres was observed in both groups, while Mass-based vaccine was detected later but persisted longer in gel vaccinated chicks. No differences were observed in mean antibody titres. Compared to spray, gel administration appears equally effective and less impactful on body temperature, thus supporting its application for IBV vaccmatlon.

Simulations of respiratory droplet spray

As part of the Summer High School Intensive in Next Generation Engineering (SHINE) with the University of Southern California's (USC) Viterbi School of Engineering, this work examines the transmission of the COVID-19 virus through respiratory droplets expelled from an infected individual. Social distancing and face masking protocols have been implemented to reduce the spread of droplets. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the recommendations using computational fluid dynamics simulations based upon the ANSYS Fluent Student Edition with two-dimensional axisymmetric simulations. The four most common ways of spreading respiratory droplets, including breathing, talking, coughing, and sneezing, were examined. Before completing the droplet spray simulations, several canonical jet flows were simulated to verify the validity of Fluent's application. Specifically, laminar and turbulent free jets were modeled and compared against experimental data. In addition, standard features of jets such as self-similarity, spreading ratios, and centerline velocity decay were verified from the solutions. Once the computations were validated, simulations were completed for each of the four cases at the six-foot recommended social distancing to determine the droplet concentration reduction. The simulations were run at increasing grid resolution to verify grid and time-step independence. Finally, the simulations were repeated for the case with face masks to assess the additional reduction of droplets reaching the receiver at the recommended distance. At the recommended social distancing with masking, the number of droplets coming into contact with others was reduced to negligible amounts. The simulations showed the recommended protocols are highly effective at reducing the transmission of COVID-19. © 2022, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA. All rights reserved.

Nasal vaccine as a booster shot: a viable solution to restrict pandemic?

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic revolutionized the vaccine market and initiated the momentum for alternative routes of administration for vaccines. The intranasal route of immunization is one such possibility that appears to be the most promising since it has some significant advantages, particularly in the prevention of respiratory infection. To analyze and summarize the role of nasal vaccines over conventional vaccines during COVID-19 and the need for the nasal vaccine as a booster shot. In this narrative review, the required data was retrieved using keywords "COVID-19," "Intranasal," "Immunity," "Nasal spray," and "Mucosal" in databases including PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Science Direct, and Web of Sciences. The results of the study showed that the nasal vaccines were both effective and protective according to the current researches approaching during the COVID-19 period and the preclinical and clinical phase trials prove the intranasal vaccination elicits more robust and cross-protective immunity than conventional vaccines. In this narrative review article, mechanisms across the nasal mucosa will be briefly presented and the current status of nasal vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic is summarized, and advantages over traditional vaccines are provided. Furthermore, after exploring the primary benefits and kinetics of nasal vaccine, the potential for consideration of nasal vaccine as a booster dose is also discussed.

Post corona water crisis management

This article talks about future water crisis management after the COVID-19 pandemic. Scenarios such as water use wastage due to hand washing and eutrophication with soap and detergent and water spray as sanitary measures in cities and metros were highlighted as examples and part of the crisis. More than this, climate change in tandem with hydrologic variability were viewed to have a profound impact on the water sector as well. Finally, the article predicts that in 2025, water shortages will be more prevalent due to rising demand and conflict, and how governments will find solutions to such issues moving forward.

Effectiveness of hydrogen peroxide as auxiliary treatment for hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Brazil: preliminary results of a randomized double-blind clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in the form of mouthwash and nasal spray as an auxiliary treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODS: Forty hospitalized patients who tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 using a reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction test were evaluated. They were randomly divided into an experimental group (n= 20; gargling with 1.0% H2O2 and nasal wash with 0.5% H2O2) or a control group (n= 20). The solutions were used for 7 days and the patients were monitored every 2 days, for a total of 8 days. At check-ups, patients were asked about their symptoms and possible adverse effects of the solutions. The presence and severity (mild, moderate, or severe) of symptoms were recorded. Data were compared using the Student test and the Fisher exact test (α= 0.05). RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in the length of hospital stay (p= 0.65). The most frequent symptom on day 0 was coughing (72.0% in the experimental group and 76.5% in the control group), which abated over time. There was no significant difference between the groups in the evaluated symptoms. Most (75.0%) of the patients in the experimental group presented a reduction in dyspnea between days 0 and 2. Few patients reported adverse effects from the use of the solutions. CONCLUSIONS: H2O2 as a mouthwash and nasal spray is safe to use. There is insufficient evidence to demonstrate that H2O2 is effective as an auxiliary treatment for hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Advances in the Prophylaxis of Respiratory Infections by the Nasal and the Oromucosal Route: Relevance to the Fight with the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic.

In this time of COVID-19 pandemic, the strategies for prevention of the infection are a primary concern. Looking more globally on the subject and acknowledging the high degree of misuse of protective face masks from the population, we focused this review on alternative pharmaceutical developments eligible for self-defense against respiratory infections. In particular, the attention herein is directed to the nasal and oromucosal formulations intended to boost the local immunity, neutralize or mechanically "trap" the pathogens at the site of entry (nose or mouth). The current work presents a critical review of the contemporary methods of immune- and chemoprophylaxis and their suitability and applicability in topical mucosal dosage forms for SARS-CoV-2 prophylaxis.

Copper acetate aerosols: A possible tool complementary to vaccination in fight against SARS-CoV-2 and variants replication.

In SARS-CoV-2, at the S1/S2 furin cleavage site, a four amino acid insert (P-R-R-A) not found in closely related corona viruses, has been shown to facilitate entry into respiratory epithelial cells and promote virus transmission, infectivity and virulence. By cupric aerosol treatment, complexation of these four amino acids (-P-R-R-A-), at the spike (S) protein site will lead to a conformational change possibly impeding SARS-CoV-2 replication process in the respiratory track. Since these four amino acids yield strong and stable copper complexes, subsequent to a steric hindrance, this complexation will disturb the furin-like protease cleavage at the spike protein site as it has been recently shown in vitro with copper gluconate. The compilation of stability constants for copper amino-acid complex formation, showing values of the same order of magnitude for all the twenty proteinogenic amino-acids demonstrate thermodynamically that copper amino-acid chelation for SARS-CoV-2 virus will not be affected by mutations leading to amino acid exchanges in the spike protein region. Given its low toxicity, and its very low stability formation constant, copper acetate is proposed rather than copper gluconate for possible cupric aerosol or nasal spray treatments aimed at impeding SARS-CoV-2 multiplication. It will open different medical perspectives, complementary to vaccination, in the fight against COVID 19 native virus, variants and future mutants.

Effects of hypertonic alkaline nasal irrigation on COVID-19.

Objective: The causative agent of COVID-19 is a novel member of coronaviridaes, SARS-CoV-2. It has been reported that the spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2 is responsible of infectivity. The S protein is demonstrated to be inactivated under environmental condition, such as hypertonicity and alkaline pH. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of hypertonic alkaline nasal irrigation (HANI) on SARS-CoV-2. Methods: Sixty patients divided into two groups. The patients in Group 1 used hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), and the patients in Group 2 used HCQ and HANI. Nasopharyngeal samples were collected at the beginning, on 3rd and 7th day of the PCR test positivity. The nasopharyngeal viral load (NVL) changes analyzed with quantitative PCR. Results: NVL decrease in weekly period was statistically significant for both groups, when the difference between NVL day 0 and 3rd in Group 1 and NVL difference between day 0 and 3rd in Group 2 were compared. The difference between Groups 1 and 2 in terms of NVL change was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion: We demonstrated a significant decrease in nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 load with HANI solution and suggest that HANI may be promising modality for the COVID-19 treatment. Level of evidence: IB.

Formulation of a Composite Nasal Spray Enabling Enhanced Surface Coverage and Prophylaxis of SARS-COV-2.

Airborne pathogens pose high risks in terms of both contraction and transmission within the respiratory pathways, particularly the nasal region. However, there is little in the way of adequate intervention that can protect an individual or prevent further spread. This study reports on a nasal formulation with the capacity to combat such challenges, focusing on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Formulation of a polysaccharide-based spray, known for its mucoadhesive properties, is undertaken and it is characterized for its mechanical, spray distribution, and antiviral properties. The ability to engineer key mechanical characteristics such as dynamic yield stresses and high coverage is shown, through systematic understanding of the composite mixture containing both gellan and λ-carrageenan. Furthermore, the spray systems demonstrate highly potent capacities to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection in Vero cells, resulting in complete inhibition when either treating, the cells, or the virus, prior to challenging for infection. From this data, a mechanism for both prophylaxis and prevention is proposed; where entrapment within a polymeric coating sterically blocks virus uptake into the cells, inactivating the virus, and allowing clearance within the viscous medium. As such, a fully preventative spray is formulated, targeted at protecting the lining of the upper respiratory pathways against SARS-CoV-2.

Natural Derived Nasal Spray; A Proposed Approach for COVID-19 Disease Control.

Considering the importance of COVID-19 disease pandemic, emerged by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), in line with other studies to find appropriate prevention or treatment methods for this virus infection, our study objective was proposing the use of natural derived ingredients as an approach for COVID-19 disease control. Here we reviewed previous studies on natural derived nasal sprays andfound that some known natural derived ingredients have antiviral properties, so their topical use as a nasalspray is effective in reducing the symptoms of respiratory infections. Moreover, such nasal sprays also have thepotential of decreasing viral load, including titer of coronaviruses, in the nasal cavity. It seems that the use ofcarrageenan or other herbal ingredients in the nasal spray may block the SARS-CoV-2 virus from entering thelung cells of an affected person and can also prevent virus transmission to other susceptible persons. Further,noticing what we know about the novel 2019 coronavirus so far, we suggested carrageenan that has an unspecific physical antiviral activity and some other natural derived ingredients, as a choice in coping with SARS-CoV-2 virus infection.