Reduce exposure to the bacteria responsible for infections and also the viral load of Sars-Cov2 thanks to copper and its alloys that have antimicrobial properties and are able to eliminate viruses and bacteria from their surfaces in a very short time. Among the pathogens that the metal can eliminate are E. Coli, Salmonella, MRSA, Campylobacter, Legionella and Pneumophila; viruses such as influenza, Rotavirus, HIV and Coronaviruses, including Sars-Cov-2. A study by the Institute of Virology of the University of Pisa recently showed that copper can reduce the viral load of Sars-Cov-2 by 90% in 10 minutes and neutralize the virus 100% in an hour. It is on these antimicrobial properties that the work of the Copper-Action Hub is focusing, a European project that aims to create an open platform to enhance the naturally antimicrobial properties of copper and use them as a lever for a safer future and sustainable. Frontiere interviewed Roberto Bertollini, project coordinator and member of the Scientific Committee on Health, Environment and Emerging Risks of the European Commission, former WHO representative to the European Union.
Has the Covid-19 health emergency brought back the need to control and prevent infections?
The experience accumulated in this last year shows how important a collective effort by public and private actors is to prevent and control the spread of pathogens responsible for diseases associated with high morbidity and morbidity, such as Covid-19. The transmissibility of highly infectious pathogens occurs, among other things, also through contact with contaminated surfaces or due to the presence of pathogens in the air (aerosol).
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You are the coordinator of the Copper-Action Hub: what is it and what are your goals?
It is an independent group, made up of members with consolidated and multidisciplinary experience, from healthcare to architecture, to the study, to study the indications for the use of copper as an antimicrobial in the public and private sector. Based on the scientific evidence in this area, the task of the Copper-Action Hub is to verify the scientific evidence on the antimicrobial properties of copper and, on this basis, to develop guidelines and recommendations for the use of antimicrobial copper in both areas transit in both the health sector and public transport.
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Covid, how to save hands
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What is the scientific evidence that demonstrates the antimicrobial action of copper?
Despite the mode of transmission of Covid 19 occurs mainly through the presence of the germ in aerosols, recent studies published by the New England Journal of Medicine and the University of Cambridge have shown that the Sars-Cov-2 virus remains on surfaces and has left more traces of viral activity on plastic and stainless steel rather than copper. The virus was detected up to 72 hours after application on these surfaces, while no virus was measured on copper after just 4 hours, suggesting that copper may be a natural sanitizer.
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How was this property of copper discovered? Was it a case or is there something else?
Ancient civilizations exploited the antimicrobial properties of copper even before the discovery of bacteria and their causal link with infectious diseases in the 19th century. An interesting article by Dollwet and Sorenson published in the Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology describes the path of knowledge on antimicrobial copper very well. Copper was known to control infection as early as in Egyptian times. The ancient Hindu tradition linked to Ayurvedic medicine, which dates back to over 3000 years ago, recommends collecting and storing domestic water supplies in copper containers to protect its quality over time. Recent studies even suggest overnight storage of contaminated water in copper vessels to neutralize bacteria and make the water drinkable. An interesting anecdote that indirectly proves these qualities was the observation during World War I of how wounds from fragments of a copper-containing bullet were more rarely associated with infections.
The University of Pisa conducted a study on the ability of copper to reduce the viral load of Sars-Cov-2. What emerged?
The Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery of the University of Pisa has certified that the Sars-CoV-2 virus was inactivated by more than 99% after one hour of contact with materials made of copper and alloy copper. Specifically, a clinical isolate of Sars-CoV-2 (taken from a patient admitted to the hospital) was placed in contact with copper and copper alloy for 5, 10, 30 and 60 minutes. With each lapse of time, the virus was cultured on a cell line and then residual infectivity was analyzed.
Given these properties, are there any studies to understand how to ‘transport’ them into clinical practice?
The European Center for Disease Control estimates that 3.8 million people contract a hospital-acquired or healthcare-related infection (ICA) each year in health and social care settings in the EU countries, Norway and Iceland, and that around 90,000 people die in the EU from complications. At least 20% of nosocomial infections are considered avoidable through improved infection prevention and control. Trials in hospitals have shown a reduced bacterial and viral load of pathogens on copper surfaces, including antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus (MRSA). The antimicrobial effect of copper surfaces appears to result in a reduced prevalence of care-related infections in patient rooms with copper-containing surfaces or linens. But these initial observations require further verification and experimental confirmation.
What is currently applied in Italy and possibly abroad?
The pandemic itself has prompted public and private actors to consider the use of copper as an additional measure to sanitation and sanitation protocols in the fight against the spread of bacteria and viruses. In Italy, for example, Milan Linate airport has chosen to use copper in high-contact surfaces such as, for example, handrails for stairs, handles for luggage trolleys and hand supports in buses operating in airport offices. The pilot project was launched in June 2021 and the results of the first studies will be available in 2022. In Canada, the TransLink bus company has applied copper to two buses and two train carriages. An initial experimentation carried out on samples performed during transit and in the laboratory concludes that copper-containing surfaces eliminate up to 99.9 percent of all bacteria within one hour of contact of the bacteria with the surface.
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