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By Sonali Paul and Stefica Nicol Bikes
MELBOURNE / SYDNEY (Reuters) – The virus that causes COVID-19 can survive in banknotes, glass and stainless steel for up to 28 days, much longer than the flu virus, Australian researchers said on Monday, highlighting the need for cleanup. and hand washing to fight the virus.
The results of the study by Australia’s national scientific agency, CSIRO, appear to show that in a highly controlled environment the virus remained infectious for longer than other studies have found.
CSIRO researchers found that at 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) the SARS-COV-2 virus remained infectious for 28 days on smooth surfaces such as plastic and glass bills found on mobile phone screens. The study was published in the Virology Journal.
By comparison, influenza A virus has been found to survive on surfaces for 17 days.
“It really reinforces the importance of hand washing and sanitizing where possible and certainly cleaning surfaces that may be in contact with the virus,” said study lead investigator Shane Riddell.
The study involved drying the virus in artificial mucus on a variety of surfaces at concentrations similar to samples from COVID-19 patients and then recovering the virus for a month.
Experiments conducted at 20, 30 and 40 degrees C showed that the virus survived longer in colder temperatures, longer on smooth surfaces than complex surfaces like cotton, and longer on paper banknotes than on plastic banknotes.
“So going into summer, it will certainly be an important factor that the virus does not last as long in warmer temperatures,” Riddell said, referring to the upcoming southern hemisphere summer.
All experiments were conducted in the dark to eliminate the impact of UV light, as research has shown that direct sunlight can kill the virus.
“So in the real world, the results would probably be shorter than we could show,” Riddell told Reuters.
The researchers said that since proteins and fats in body fluids can also dramatically increase survival times of the virus, their study may help explain the apparent persistence and spread of the virus in cold environments such as meat packing facilities.
Australia has fared much better than most other wealthy nations in the fight against COVID-19, with a total of approximately 27,000 infections and 898 deaths in a population of 25 million.
The epicenter of the country’s second wave of infection, the state of Victoria, reported 15 new cases on Monday, well below the target of fewer than five the government has set to ease a tough lockdown in the state capital, Melbourne.
New South Wales, the most populous state, reported six new cases on Monday, five of which were travelers returned from quarantine.
(Reporting by Sonali Paul and Stefica Nicol Bikes; Editing by Stephen Coates)
