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A study by Japanese researchers found that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus remains active on the skin for nine hours. By comparison, the pathogen that causes the flu survives on the skin for about 1.8 hours, says the study published this month in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
“The nine-hour survival of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus strain that causes covid-19 disease) in human skin may increase the risk of contact transmission compared to IAV (influenza A virus or influenza A), thus accelerating the pandemic, “say the study authors.
Japanese researchers analyzed skin samples taken from autopsy specimens about a day after death. Both the coronavirus and the flu virus are inactivated in 15 seconds by applying ethanol, used in hand sanitizers. “The increased survival of SARS-CoV-2 in the skin increases the risk of transmission by contact, but hand hygiene can reduce that risk,” say the researchers.
The study supports the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations to wash your hands regularly and thoroughly to limit transmission of the virus.
Covid-19 has caused more than 1.1 million deaths in 39.4 million infected people since the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which causes the disease, was first detected in a city in central China, in December 2019.
