Why Aren't We Using This to Defeat Viruses
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/copper-virus-kill-180974655/
When researchers reported last month that the novel coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic survives for days on glass and stainless steel but dies within hours after landing on copper, the only thing that surprised Bill Keevil was that the pathogen lasted so long on copper.
Keevil, a microbiology researcher at the University of Southampton (U.K.), has studied the antimicrobial effects of copper for more than two decades. He has watched in his laboratory as the simple metal slew one bad bug after another. He began with the bacteria that causes Legionnaire's Disease and then turned to drug-resistant killer infections like Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). He tested viruses that caused worldwide health scares such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and the Swine Flu (H1N1) pandemic of 2009. In each case, copper contact killed the pathogen within minutes. "It just blew it apart," he says.
In 2015, Keevil turned his attention to Coronavirus 229E, a relative of the COVID-19 virus that causes the common cold and pneumonia. Once again, copper zapped the virus within minutes while it remained infectious for five days on surfaces such as stainless steel or glass.
“One of the ironies is, people [install] stainless steel because it seems clean and in a way, it is,” he says, noting the material’s ubiquity in public places. “But then the argument is how often do you clean? We don’t clean often enough.” Copper, by contrast, disinfects merely by being there.
Ancient Knowledge
Keevil’s work is a modern confirmation of an ancient remedy. For thousands of years, long before they knew about germs or viruses, people have known of copper’s disinfectant powers. "Copper is truly a gift from Mother Nature in that the human race has been using it for over eight millennia," says Michael G. Schmidt, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the Medical University of South Carolina who researches copper in healthcare settings.
The first recorded use of copper as an infection-killing agent comes from Smith's Papyrus, the oldest-known medical document in history. The information therein has been ascribed to an Egyptian doctor circa 1700 B.C. but is based on information that dates back as far as 3200 B.C. Egyptians designated the ankh symbol, representing eternal life, to denote copper in hieroglyphs.
As far back as 1,600 B.C., the Chinese used copper coins as medication to treat heart and stomach pain as well as bladder diseases. The sea-faring Phoenicians inserted shavings from their bronze swords into battle wounds to prevent infection. For thousands of years, women have known that their children didn't get diarrhea as frequently when they drank from copper vessels and passed on this knowledge to subsequent generations. "You don't need a medical degree to diagnose diarrhea," Schmidt says.
And copper’s power lasts. Keevil’s team checked the old railings at New York City’s Grand Central Terminal a few years ago. "The copper is still working just like it did the day it was put in over 100 years ago," he says. "This stuff is durable and the anti-microbial effect doesn't go away."
/https://public-media.si-cdn.com/filer/08/55/0855a323-8f47-4288-b49e-e44a4530f1f5/royal_observatory_edinburgh_east_tower_2010_cropped.jpg)
Long-Lasting Power
What the ancients knew, modern scientists and organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency have confirmed. The EPA has registered about 400 copper surfaces as antimicrobial. But how exactly does it work?
Heavy metals including gold and silver are antibacterial, but copper’s specific atomic makeup gives it extra killing power, Keevil says. Copper has a free electron in its outer orbital shell of electrons that easily takes part in oxidation-reduction reactions (which also makes the metal a good conductor). As a result, Schmidt says, it becomes a “molecular oxygen grenade.” Silver and gold don’t have the free electron, so they are less reactive.
Copper kills in other ways as well, according to Keevil, who has published papers on the effect. When a microbe lands on copper, ions blast the pathogen like an onslaught of missiles, preventing cell respiration and punching holes in the cell membrane or viral coating and creating free radicals that accelerate the kill, especially on dry surfaces. Most importantly, the ions seek and destroy the DNA and RNA inside a bacteria or virus, preventing the mutations that create drug-resistant superbugs. “The properties never wear off, even if it tarnishes,” Schmidt says.
Schmidt has focused his research on the question of whether using copper alloys in often-touched surfaces reduces hospital infections. On any given day, about one in 31 hospital patients has at least one healthcare-associated infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control, costing as much as $50,000 per patient. Schmidt’s landmark study, funded by the Department of Defense, looked at copper alloys on surfaces including bedside rails, tray tables, intravenous poles, and chair armrests at three hospitals around the country. That 43-month investigation revealed a 58 percent infection reduction compared to routine infection protocols.
Further research stalled when the DOD focused on the Zika epidemic, so Schmidt turned his attention to working with a manufacturer that created a copper hospital bed. A two-year study published earlier this year compared beds in an intensive care unit with plastic surfaces and those with copper. Bed rails on the plastic surfaces exceeded the accepted risk standards in nearly 90 percent of the samples, while the rails on the copper bed exceeded those standards on only 9 percent. "We again demonstrated in spades that copper can keep the built environment clean from microorganisms," he says.
Schmidt is also a co-author of an 18-month study led by Shannon Hinsa-Leasure, an environmental microbiologist at Grinnell College, that compared the bacterial abundance in occupied and unoccupied rooms at Grinnell Regional Medical Center's 49-bed rural hospital. Again, copper reduced bacterial numbers. "If you're using a copper alloy that's always working," Hinsa-Leasure says, “you still need to clean the environment, but you have something in place that's working all the time (to disinfect) as well."
Harnessing Copper
Keevil and Schmidt have found that installing copper on just 10 percent of surfaces would prevent infections and save $1,176 a day (comparing the reduced cost of treating infections to the cost of installing copper). Yet hospitals have been slow to respond. "I've been surprised how slow it has been to be taken up by hospitals," Hinsa-Leasure adds. "A lot of it has to do with our healthcare system and funding to hospitals, which is very tight. When our hospital redid our emergency room, we installed copper alloys in key places. So it makes a lot of sense when you're doing a renovation or building something that's new. It's more expensive if you're just changing something that you already have."
The Sentara Hospital system in North Carolina and Virginia made copper-impregnated surfaces the standard across 13 hospitals in 2017 for overbed tables and bed rails after a 2016 clinical trial at a Virginia Beach hospital reported a 78 percent reduction in drug-resistant organisms. Using technology pioneered in Israel, the hospital has also moved to copper-infused bedding. Keevil says France and Poland are beginning to put copper alloys in hospitals. In Peru and Chile, which produce copper, it's being used in hospitals and the public transit systems. "So it's going around the world, but it still hasn't taken off," he says.
If copper kills COVID-19, should you periodically roll a few pennies and nickels around in your hands? Stick with water, soap, and sanitizer. "You never know how many viruses are affiliated with the hand, so it may not completely get them all,” Schmidt says. “It will only be a guess if copper will completely protect."
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306987720308136
Is copper beneficial for COVID-19 patients?
Copper takes aim at COVID-19 with virus-killer coatings
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - At an outer suburban manufacturing plant, engineer Byron Kennedy is resetting a machine to spray-print a layer of copper on to a door handle, aiming to use the metal’s antiviral properties to counter the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.
His firm Spee3D is better known as a producer of 3D printers for copper and aluminium, used by customers including the Australian defence force and U.S. Marines to rapidly print new parts to get broken equipment back in action without waiting days for spares to arrive.
“Up until the end of last year, our business was building the 3D printers, which were then used to build parts,” Spee3D co-founder Kennedy told Reuters.
“Come 2020, and the epidemic hits. We know about the antimicrobial properties of copper, so we thought ‘Can we do something, can we help out here?’”
Copper’s disinfectant powers have long been known and its antibacterial, antiviral and anti-fungal properties have been supported by scientific studies.
Spee3D commissioned Melbourne laboratory 360biolabs to look at how SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, reacts to copper surfaces.
The results showed that 96% of the virus was killed off in two hours and 99.2% in 5 hours, compared to no change on stainless steel surfaces over the same period, Kennedy said.
This is in line with a U.S.-government funded study bit.ly/2WdhxZR published in March that found SARS-CoV-2 remained viable for up to 4 hours on copper, compared with 2 to 3 days on plastic and stainless steel.
Spee3D then reset some of its machines to be able to coat surfaces such as door handles and push plates, and has already received orders from two Australian government departments to resurface door handles before staff return to work.
The Northern Territory’s Trade, Business and Innovation Department said in a statement it was thrilled to adopt the technology to make its workplace safer.
The firm is also speaking with a big miner and several major door handle manufacturers about additional applications, Kennedy said.
SLOW TAKE-UP
Copper had already been making some inroads into the healthcare sector after trials in hospitals, including in the U.S. state of Virginia here, in recent years.
However, attempts by fabricators in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan to sell copper alloy products into the sector resulted in only a modest take-up, partly due to costs, said John Fennell, Chief Executive of the International Copper Association Australia.
“We are seeing outcrops of people adopting this, but not as much as you would have thought,” he said.
COVID-19 looks set to give the metal a boost.
In major copper producer Chile, the country’s mines minister recently touted the use of copper in face masks, such as those produced by a U.S.-Chilean company, while U.S. miner Freeport McMoRan believes the pandemic will shine a light on how copper can help improve public health.
“Copper’s use in health care equipment and facilities and in public places will undoubtedly grow significantly when the cost of copper, which has been a barrier in the past, is measured by the enormous cost to society that is being brought on by this pandemic,” Freeport Chief Executive Richard Adkerson told a briefing last week.
New manufacturing techniques like 3D printing are also a potential game-changer as they can allow ultra-thin coatings to be applied quickly, while still taking advantage of copper’s antimicrobial properties and cutting the amount of metal used, and therefore the cost.
The price of coating a standard office door handle is about A$50-A$100 ($33-$65), says Kennedy, although costs will fall over time.
Disappointing copper bulls, it’s likely the new coating methods will keep a lid on the amount of metal used in healthcare, said analyst Lachlan Shaw of National Australia Bank in Melbourne.
“I think we can confidently say demand for copper for those uses will go up, quite possibly by a lot. Is that going to shift the dial for global demand? At this stage I doubt it,” he said.
Reporting by Melanie Burton; additional reporting by Ernest Scheyder; editing by Richard Pullin
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
https://www.rdworldonline.com/copper-alloy-kills-coronavirus-within-10-minutes/
A team of scientists at the University of Southampton have established significant results in the elimination of Covid-19 within minutes, on a copper-based alloy, demonstrating its ability to reduce coronavirus transmission rates, via commonly touched surfaces, manufactured with this metal. Working with Sylatech, an engineering business in North Yorkshire, U.K., Professor Bill Keevil, Dr. SandraWilks and their team undertook trials using Sylatech’s copper-based alloy, MB1, which is known to have excellent antibacterial and anti-viral properties against a range of pathogens. The study, undertaken in strict laboratory conditions, simulated the virus landing on a surface, such as it would from a cough or sneeze, and looked at how long it survived. It compared the viability of the coronavirus on stainless steel against Sylatech’s copper-based alloy. The startling results showed that on the copper alloy, the virus viability was completely eliminated within 10 minutes. There was a 93.9% reduction in the virus within 5 minutes and yet on stainless steel, the virus remained fully infectious, with no reduction after one hour. Previous research has also shown the virus to liveon stainless steel and plastic surfaces for up to 72 hours. and a recent article in The Lancet suggested that it can even survive for 7 days.
Comparison of virus survival rates on common materials vs. MB1 copper alloy
Material Lifespan of Coronavirus Source
MB1 copper alloy < 10 minutes* *University of Southampton
Stainless Steel 7 days** **The Lancet
Surgical mask (outer layer) 7 days** **The Lancet
Plastic 7 days** **The Lancet
Glass / banknote 4 days ** **The Lancet
“With the coronavirus having such a significant impact on all of our lives and with the looming risk of further spikes, it is clear that fundamental changes are required in our approach to hygiene. The antimicrobial properties of Sylatech’s copper alloy are clear in their rapid rate of virus elimination and action should be taken to capitalize on this,” said Professor Keevil, commenting on the results.
Items such as door handles, light switches, toilet levers, taps and other regularly touched surfaces all carry significant risk in spreading bacteria and viruses. Hospitals, shops, offices, airports and other locations with high human traffic, need to seriously rethink their environment and take urgent action to address the hygiene risk. Having recently launched the KeepSafe, a personal handheld device made from its MB1 alloy, Sylatech is now progressing a number of other potential applications to further exploit the results from the study.
“Clearly we are delighted that our copper alloy demonstrates such a strong ability to combat the coronavirus. The KeepSafe, our simple device which enables users to avoid touching handles, buttons or grabbing items unnecessarily, is a specific innovation to exploit the benefits of the material. Our design engineers stand ready, together with our specialist investment casting and CNC machining capability, to support businesses looking to create products using our MB1 copper-alloy to provide permanent changes against the virus,” said Charlie Breese, Sylatech’s managing director. “It is contingent upon Government and business leaders to implement change that creates a safer environment for all of our futures.”
For more information, visit thekeepsafe.co.uk
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PERSPECTIVE CAN COPPER HELP FIGHT COVID-19? Experts on copper and microbiology recommend the expanded use of copper alloys in public spaces to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and minimize future pandemics. Harold T. Michels,* consultant and retired senior vice president, Copper Development Association, Manhasset, New York Corinne A. Michels, distinguished professor emerita, Queens College — CUNY, Flushing, New York A 3D atomic scale map, or molecular structure, of the 2019-nCoV spike protein. The protein takes on two different shapes, called conformations—one before it infects a host cell, and another during infection. This structure represents the protein before it infects a cell, called the prefusion conformation. Courtesy of Jason McLellan/University of Texas at Austin. Advanced Materials & Processes, Digital First Copyright © 2020 ASM International® ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | DIGITAL FIRST Copper can be a powerful weapon in the fight against COVID-19 and future pandemics, but we have to use it. Throughout history, copper was recognized for its antimicrobial activity[1]. With the advent of antibiotics, the value of copper as a medical treatment was pushed aside and lost from our collective knowledge base. While the world focuses on treating those with COVID-19 and developing testing kits and vaccines, prevention will soon take greater prominence. An ever-increasing body of research indicates that copper alloys have the potential to control the spread of infectious disease and blunt the impact of future pandemics. “An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.” INACTIVATION STUDIES A recent, highly publicized New England Journal of Medicine article authored by van Doremalen et al.[2] reported that Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the newly emerged strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 infections, retains infectivity in aerosols and on a variety of common surfaces for extended periods of time. Most significantly, while the virus remained infective on plastic and 304 stainless steel for up to 48-72 hours, inactivation was observed in 4 hours on a 99.9% copper alloy. This finding was largely overlooked by media reports. Another coronavirus, Human Coronavirus 229E (Hu-CoV-229E) causes a broad spectrum of lung disorders. An article published in 2015 authored by Warnes et al.[3] showed that Hu-CoV-229E remained infectious following exposure to polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE or Teflon), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), ceramic tile, glass, silicone rubber, and stainless steel, but was rapidly inactivated on copper and on a range of copper-zinc and copper-nickel alloys. Complete loss of infectious activity was reached after as little as a five-minute exposure, depending on the particular alloy tested. Not only was the inactivation rapid but it was accompanied by the irreversible destruction of viral RNA and massive structural damages. Figure 1, taken from Warnes et al.[3], is rich in content and calls for a detailed explanation. In the experimental protocol, a small sample of a suspension of virus particles was spread onto a 1 cm2 coupon of metal of the indicated composition. After a designated time, the virus particles were washed from the surface of the coupon and the number of infectious viruses remaining was determined. This number is expressed as the number of plaque forming units (pfu) per coupon. Figure 1 plots the number of pfu (on a logarithmic scale) versus the time of exposure to the alloy surface. COPPER ALLOY PERFORMANCE Figure 1a shows a series of brasses ranging from 60 to 95% Cu (balance Zn), C110 (100%), Z130 (100% Zn), and S304 ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | DIGITAL FIRST (b) (c) (a) (d) 2 Stainless Steel (18% Cr – 8% Ni), which served as the experimental control. Both S304 and Z130 displayed no significant loss in infectious viral particles, while C110 (100% Cu) and C210 (95% Cu) showed the fastest reduction, followed by increasing time for complete inactivation in the following order: C210 (95% Cu), C220 (90% Cu), C230 (85% Cu), C260 (70% Cu), and C280 (60% Cu). Note the inverse correlation between decreasing copper content and increasing time for inactivation in brass. Figure 1b is a plot of the data from the first 30 minutes of Fig. 1a. It shows a gradual decline, followed by rapid inactivation. Figure 1c shows a series of copper-nickel alloys ranging from 70%Cu to 90%Cu, N022 (100% Ni), and S304. N022 and S304 showed no significant loss in virus particles. The copper-nickel alloys displayed increasing complete inactivation time with decreasing copper content in the following order: C110 (100% Cu), C706 (90%), C725 (88% Cu), C710 (80% Cu), and C715 (70% Cu). Again, note the inverse correlation between decreasing copper content and increasing time for inactivation in copper-nickel alloys. In Fig. 1d, a very small amount of inoculum, which dried immediately, was placed on the metal samples to simulate a finger touch of the surface. Inactivation of Hu-CoV-229E was complete in 2.5 minutes on C110 (100% Cu) and 5 minutes on cartridge brass C260 (70% Cu) while S304 stainless steel displayed only a modest reduction, most likely due to evaporation. These results strongly support the conclusions that copper alloys rapidly inactivate Hu-CoV229E virus and that the copper in the alloy is responsible for the inactivation. These two articles[2-3] used different strains of coronavirus but this is unlikely to be the source of the observed differences in inactivation times. The anti-coronavirus activity of copper alloys probably extends to all strains of coronavirus because this class of virus is essentially structurally identical. We have all become familiar with the spherical shape of coronavirus with its protruding spikes. The virus’ RNA (its hereditary information) is contained inside a spherical “envelope” that protects the RNA. The envelope is a thin sphere of lipid molecules (fatty acids) arranged in a double layer or a lipid bilayer. Embedded within this lipid bilayer are two viral proteins, E and M. A third protein, S, or spike protein, is anchored at one end into the lipid layer and projects outward from the surface as radial spikes. These spikes give this group of viruses their name because they look like a “corona” when viewed at high magnification. Minor variations in the hereditary information (RNA) produce slight variations in the proteins exposed at the outer surface. These proteins, particularly S, are responsible for attaching to and gaining entrance into respiratory cells where the RNA uses the metabolic machinery of the host cell to produce more viruses. Variations in these proteins do not produce significant variation in the overall structure and function of the virus. Thus, one can surmise with a reasonable degree of confidence that the efficacy of copper alloys against Hu-CoV-229E should also be observed when tested with the newly emerged SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV-1, the causative agent in the SARS epidemic of 2003. Scientists believe that the differences in exposure times observed by van Doremalen et al.[2] and Warnes et al.[3] result from technical differences in the experimental protocols and not from inherent differences among the viral strains. Figure 1d demonstrates that small sample sizes, in this case 1 microliter or 1/50th of a drop, were inactivated in 5 minutes or less. Similar results from a variety of laboratories studying copper alloy killing of bacteria found quite clearly that the volume of the inoculum placed onto the metal coupon contributes significantly to the speed of inactivation. Killing was very slow during the time the sample was drying on the surface but, once it dried, a precipitous decrease in the number of survivors was observed[4]. Another laboratory Fig. 1 — Inactivation of Human Coronavirus 229E by copper-zinc and copper-nickel alloys. Reproduced with permission from Warnes et al., 2015[3]. ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | DIGITAL FIRST Fig. 2 — Bacterial levels found on brass and adjacent wood surfaces in Grand Central Terminal, New York City. 3 developed a “dry” technique of applying bacteria to the coupon with a cotton swab[5]. They found complete bacterial killing occurred in a minute or less using this method. Samples of 50 microliters were used by van Doremalen et al.[2] but no information on drying time, surface preparation, or sample distribution is provided. Preparation of the metal surface can be a critical factor. An insoluble organic coating, like benzotriazole, is typically present on copper sheet when it leaves the mill. This coating increases surface tension, and, thus, would inhibit inoculum distribution, slow evaporation, and most likely inhibit copper ion release from the surface. These two factors, drying time of the inoculum and surface preparation, are the most likely factors affecting the inactivation time. PROTECTING PUBLIC SPACES Small dry inoculums of infectious agents closely simulate what happens when a contaminated hand or a droplet from a cough or sneeze contacts a surface, making these results particularly relevant to the spread of disease in public spaces. Copper alloy inactivation is not limited to coronaviruses and works on viruses with different structures. Reports from the Keevil laboratory have shown that copper alloys inactivate murine norovirus[6] and Influenza A virus[7]. As in their Hu-CoV-229E study, the rate of norovirus inactivation was found to be inversely correlated with copper concentration in both the copper-nickel and copper-zinc alloys, the common theme in all of the studies of antimicrobial copper alloy surfaces. Longevity of the antimicrobial activity of copper alloys is another very important consideration when selecting materials for components for deployment in public spaces. This is really a three-part question: How long will the copper alloy maintain its ability to kill/ inactivate a disease organism; will disease organisms become resistant to killing/inactivation by copper alloys; and what type of maintenance/cleaning is required? Antimicrobial activity of copper alloys appears to be long-lasting. The brass and adjacent wood surfaces in Grand Central Terminal in New York City were used to answer this question. This beautiful Beaux-Arts building is lavishly decorated with marble and brass, an antimicrobial alloy, and opened to the public over a century ago. Defined areas were sampled with a sterile cotton swab and the total number of bacteria picked up by the swab determined. No information was collected on the cleaning history of the surface sampled or frequency of touching. The results are shown in Fig. 2. Bacterial count is expressed in CFU/100 cm2 , or colony forming units per 100 square centimeters. The brass surfaces, with 88 and 51 CFU/100 cm2 , had a significantly lower bacteria count relative to the adjacent wood, with 563 and 1866 CFU/ 100 cm2 . This finding confirms that the brass components have retained antimicrobial capabilities after decades of hand touching. Viral inactivation by copper alloys has been largely unstudied but the reports mentioned here show the rapid irreversible destruction of viral particles[3,6,7]. Since viral structure, of necessity, is largely constant, resistance is unlikely to be an issue. In the case of bacteria, the simplest mechanism of killing that is consistent with the data is the Membrane Target theory[4]. In this theory, an essential component of the bacterial membrane, unsaturated fatty acids, are modified by exposure to Cu+/Cu++ ions in a manner that causes complete loss of membrane integrity and cell rupture. Resistance to copper alloy surface exposure has not been found in the over tens of trillions of bacteria tested in laboratory studies. Thus, at least for bacteria, the heritable change required for resistance is highly improbable or lethal, making the organism inviable[1,4]. Cleaning and maintenance are another important consideration. Most of the antimicrobial copper alloys that have U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval tarnish to some degree, but some are tarnish resistant, making them more useful for inclusion in public spaces. The Antimicrobial Copper Action Network website is a resource where one can read the EPA-approved cleaning protocols (amcopper. com) and obtain information about commercially available antimicrobial copper components. It is important to note that the EPA required extensive independent third-party laboratory testing, as described by Michels and Anderson[8]. The testing results demonstrate that the antimicrobial response of copper is powerful and enduring. RECOMMENDATIONS Everywhere we go we touch surfaces that are likely to be contaminated with bacteria, viruses, and other disease-causing microorganisms. Think about the last time you were in an airport, a shopping center, or a hospital. You touched doorknobs, push plates, handles, stair railings, shopping cart handles, restroom faucets, and more. Any one of these surfaces in any of these public environments has the potential to transmit disease-causing microbes to your hands that could result in an infection. Your first line of defense is frequent hand washing, but, what if these common touch surfaces were an antimicrobial copper alloy? They would be working all day, every day of the year to kill the bacteria, viruses, and fungi ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | DIGITAL FIRST 4 that cause infectious disease. Over 500 alloys have been approved by the EPA and a large number of alloy producers and component manufacturers have signed on to making the types of items needed. The world is currently fighting a COVID-19 pandemic. In recent years we have seen HIV, SARS, MERS, and several different strains of influenza each year, not to mention the 1918 flu pandemic. All cause large numbers of fatalities, but, fortunately, only a few spread as rapidly as COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic will not be the last. Novel infective agents will continue to emerge and spread worldwide due, in large part, to high global mobility. We must use every weapon available to fight this neverending battle. Antimicrobial copper alloys are potentially powerful weapons. These alloys must be widely deployed in public spaces on common touch surfaces, especially in places with high levels of human traffic. Mass transit systems, airports, cruise ships, military bases and ships, shopping centers, schools, hotels, entertainment facilities, sports stadiums, large office buildings, hospitals and healthcare facilities, and more must be retrofitted to include the appropriate placement of antimicrobial copper components such as doorknobs, stair railings, push plates, handles and drawer pulls, electrical switch plates, plumbing fixtures and sinks, and elevator floor buttons. ~AM&P For more information: Harold Michels, consultant, Manhasset, N.Y. 11030, cu.microbes@gmail.com, www. amcopper.com; retired senior vice president, Copper Development Association, www.copper.org. References 1. H.T. Michels and C.A. Michels, The New ‘Old’ Weapon in the Fight Against Infectious Disease, Curr. Trends Microbiol., Vol 10 p 23-45, 2016. 2. N. van Doremalen, T. Bushmaker, D.H. Morris, M.G. Holbrook, A. Gamble, B.N. Williamson, A. Tamin, J.L. Harcourt, N.J. Thornburg, S.I. Gerber, J.O. LloydSmith, E. de Wit, and V.J. Munster, Aerosol and Surface Stability of SARSCoV-2 as Compared with SARS-CoV-1, N. Engl. Jour. Med, 2020, DOI: 10.1056/ NEJMc2004973. 3. S.L. Warnes, Z.R. Little, and C.W. Keevil, Human Coronavirus 229E Remains Infectious on Common Touch Surface Materials, mBio, American Soc. Microbiology, Vol 6, e01697-15, 2015. 4. R. Hong, T.Y. Kang, C.A. Michels, and N. Gadura, Membrane Lipid Peroxidation in Copper Alloy-Mediated Contact Killing of Escherichia coli, Appl. Environ. Microbiol., Vol 78, p 1776-1784, 2012. 5. C. Espirito Santo, E.W. Lam, C.G. Elowsky, D. Quaranta, D.W. Domaille, C.J. Chang, and G. Grass, Bacterial Killing by Dry Metallic Copper Surfaces, Appl. Environ. Microbiol., Vol 77 p 794- 802, 2011. 6. S.L. Warnes, E.N. Summergill, and C.W. Keevil, Inactivation of Murine Norovirus on a Range of Copper Alloy Surfaces is Accompanied by Loss of Capsid Integrity, Appl. Environ. Microbiol., Vol 81, p 1085-1091, 2015. 7. J.O. Noyce, H. Michels, and C.W. Keevil, Inactivation of Influenza A Virus on Copper versus Stainless Steel Surfaces, Appl. Environ. Microbiol., Vol 73, p 2743-2750, 2007. 8. H.T. Michels, and D.G. Anderson, Antimicrobial Regulatory Efficacy Testing of Solid Copper Alloy Surfaces in the USA, Metal Ions in Biology and Medicine, Vol 10, edited by C.I. Maymard, T. Theophanides, L. Khassanova, and T. Collery, published by John Libbey Eurotext, Paris, p 185-190, 2008.
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