Why Aren't We Using This to Defeat Viruses
For places that can cure you, it is easy to feel unwell
during hospitalization. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense-this is
where hundreds or even thousands of sick and contagious people gather. Cough,
sneeze, touch everything, and cover the surface with traces of infectious
liquid that are invisible to the naked eye.
If you are unlucky, you may even encounter drug-resistant
super bacteria like MRSA and huge medical expenses. If this makes you more
nervous during your next hospital stay, rest assured that this old problem can
be solved. The answer is copper. The problem is that few hospitals actually use
copper alloy surfaces. Let's take a look at the incredible antibacterial
properties of this often overlooked element and why it is not widely used.
Copper and humans go very far. This humble metal is actually
the earliest copper object used by humans, and its history can be traced back
to the Middle East in 5100 BC. In the early days of the United States, one-cent
coins were made of pure copper, and today we are mainly using zinc-based copper
alloys. For good reason, it is the third most used metal in the world. It is
malleable, making it easy to form and conduct electricity.
This is why it is the backbone of wires and pipes,
agriculture and even some forms of birth control. In 1852, French physician
Victor Burq accidentally discovered another medical application of copper in
the modern world. He is visiting a copper smelter in the third district of
Paris. By the way, the smelting process uses extremely high heat to extract
pure metals from ores. Burke was disgusted by the conditions of the factory. He
found the conditions of the factory to be unsatisfactory.
Burq called the average death rate of smelter factory
workers "poor." However, he not only had to insult the factory, but
he had to do more work-he noticed a fascinating pattern in recent years.
Throughout the 1800s, Paris has been the victim of numerous deadly cholera
outbreaks. The disease suffered devastating blows in 1832, 1849 and 1852.
However, in each case, the infection rate and mortality rate of people working
in copper smelters are much lower than the general population. Dr. Burke found
that their common occupation was the common ground here, so he wanted to
investigate further.
If you are like us and have been studying the history of
epidemiology, then you may immediately think of smallpox that broke out in the
1700s. The doctor found that the rate of smallpox infections of milkmaids who
had previously had cowpox was much lower. They discovered that this was because
antibodies produced from vaccinia infections strengthened the immune system
against smallpox. Like a milkmaid, hundreds of copper workers from the same
factory managed to completely avoid the outbreak of cholera, which prevented
those unfortunate people from scalding hot metal all day.
As a result, Dr. Burke expanded his research and found that
this trend was echoed in many professions involving copper, including
goldsmiths, boilermakers, jewelers, and even brass band musicians. He made a
major discovery here. During the cholera outbreak in 1865-yes, there were many
cholera outbreaks in Paris-about 3. Seven out of every 1,000 people die. For copper
workers, this percentage is much lower, with only 0.45 deaths per 1,000 people
due to infectious diseases. It is surrounded by copper and covered with copper
particles, which protects copper workers from infection.
Dr. Burq reached an incredible conclusion. After conducting
the same research on more than 400 companies and about 200,000 people in Europe
by 1867, he presented his findings to the French Academy of Sciences, saying:
Dr. Burke is absolutely right.
They did not yet have the technology to fully understand the
process of this phenomenon, but when everyone around was sick, copper coating
did indeed protect the copper workers from infection. What is really crazy is
that copper has actually been used for medical reasons thousands of years ago.
Smith papyrus is one of the oldest written records currently
available, documenting the use of copper to disinfect chest wounds and drinking
water between 2600 and 2200 BC. The warriors of ancient Egypt and Babylon had
the same idea. They used copper shavings on their weapons to disinfect the
wounds. battlefield. They don't know why, but they know that this wonderful
material can save lives and prevent fatal infections.
Now, modern science tells us the exact reason here. The
antibacterial properties of copper come from its ion deposition. When foreign
objects (such as bacteria) land on the surface of copper or one of its alloys,
the bacteria recognize copper ions as essential nutrients and therefore begin
to absorb them. However, as more and more copper ions enter the battery, the
ion dose becomes lethal. These levels of copper ions are dangerous to bacteria
because the influx of ions disrupts the stability of the cell's microcurrent
(called transmembrane potential) and effectively short-circuits the bacterial membrane.
This will destroy the integrity of the membrane and allow
more copper ions to flood into the cell, thereby severely disrupting the cell's
metabolic capacity and ultimately destroying its DNA and RNA to kill it. It can
sometimes even complete this process in just a few minutes, and the types of
microorganisms it can kill are indeed impressive, including MRSA, E. coli,
Norovirus, coronavirus and strains resistant to Staphylococcus. Copper is a
stubborn microorganism killing machine.
When the traces of bacteria or viruses are sprayed into the
air by means of coughing or sneezing, they can stay on normal surfaces for
several days after initial contact under the correct conditions. Carelessly
touching the wrong surface will seriously endanger your health. However, on
copper surfaces, the lifespan of microorganisms is rarely sufficient to cause
any harm. Michael Schmidt, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the
Medical University of South Carolina, believes that the use of copper in
hospitals and in areas with heavy traffic such as public spaces and public
transportation can prevent countless infections.
In American hospitals, 1 in 31 people eventually get a
health care infection. In the United States, there are approximately 36 million
inpatients each year, which means that the use of copper cables in hospitals
may prevent tens of thousands of healthcare infections each year. In fact,
increasing the use of copper in our hospitals and public places is not a real
progress, but a retrogression, because copper has actually been used more
frequently in the past.
As a reservation since then, the handrails of Grand Central
Station in New York are still copper, protecting millions of commuters and
tourists from infection. It is really really difficult to bring it back to
other places, especially considering all it will do? Professor Schmidt did not
believe that the hospital would take a life-saving leap due to the upfront
costs. When asked why the hospital no longer used copper from the beginning, he
said: "What happened is our own arrogance, and our love for plastics and
other materials took our place. We started with copper beds, copper Railings
and copper door handles have turned to stainless steel, plastic and aluminum.
So, when the threat posed by global epidemics is greater
than ever, why are governments around the world lagging behind in this regard?
As mentioned earlier, the biggest obstacle to installing copper everywhere is
cost. The cost of installing copper cables on only 10% of the most risky
surfaces in hospitals is about $ 52,000, while the cost of owning more than
6,000 hospitals in the United States is increasing rapidly. However, Professor
Schmidt believes that it is wrong to look at costs in this way. In the United
States, the total cost of infections obtained from healthcare every year is
indeed disastrous.
Each year, 99,000 deaths are related to healthcare-related
infections, and the cost of treating all infections is between $ 35. 7 and 45
billion US dollars per year. Let ’s calculate this number: the average cost of
treating each infection caused by health care is about $ 28,400 to $ 33,800.
Professor Schmidt and his colleague Bill Keevil found that in 338 days, 10% of
the hospital's surface was coated with copper, which reduced the number of
infections by 14 compared with normal people.
Even with the estimated minimum
cost of infection treatment obtained by healthcare (US $ 28,400), the
investment cost of the device is still about 13 times that of itself, saving a
total of US $ 397,600.
You cannot argue with these results. With these figures, it
is safe to assume that if the copper coverage is increased above 10%, more
money will be saved-and more importantly, more patient lives. Facts have proved
that only changes in copper bed frames and copper door handles can effectively
reduce the infection rate caused by medical care in the medical environment.
Although copper, like all elements, is the ultimate limited resource, it seems
that we will not exhaust it soon. According to the data from the Copper
Alliance, there are currently 830 million tons of copper. If we continue to use
our current copper consumption, we will continue to supply us for 46 years.
Although in reality, we will have a longer supply of copper,
because copper is one of the most recycled metals in the world. Similarly, even
if it oxidizes and appears green, copper never seems to really lose its
antibacterial properties, which means yes, the Statue of Liberty is still
sterile and strong. The copper investment is a lifetime investment, and Keevil
and Schmidt ’s research has proved that copper installation can theoretically
recover the cost within two months.
Thankfully, some people have noticed the incredible
antibacterial properties of the copper surface. The Chilean theme park
Fantasilandia uses copper on the most extensive surface in the park to reduce
the spread of disease. If you have children, or know children, you will know
that they have touched the entire garden, and then immediately put your hand in
your mouth.The copper surface really helps to suppress the potential infection
vectors in the theme park, so Fantasia can really go further.
The airport is also brewing this idea. Atlanta Airport has
installed copper for fifty water bottle filling stations to prevent repeated
use of microbial residues from harming any airport customers. The use of this
copper surface and more copper surfaces in various commercial and public places
may help to suppress public infection rates. If copper was introduced into the
public and hospital environment earlier, some people even speculated that some
of our current virus problems may have been reduced, although no one can say
for sure.
To answer our first question: Copper is an incredible
antibacterial miracle, why do n’t hospitals use copper? Like many of the
greatest evils in the world, the root cause of all these problems seems to be
misinformation. According to Professor Kivir, when doctors think of
antimicrobial metals, they most often cite silver as the most practical option.
But that is not the case. Not only is silver more expensive than copper, but it
also has antibacterial properties only when wet.
Copper does not require any additional treatment to have an
effective antibacterial effect. Many people also theoretically explained a
shallow reason why the world is reluctant to adopt copper as a common surface
metal: maintaining the appearance is much more difficult than steel, plastic
and glass Copper loses its luster and loses its color over time, but it does
not lose its antibacterial properties. People like Professor Schmidt and
Professor Kiville, now maybe you can only hope that governments around the
world can overcome aesthetic discrimination based on metal and change their
minds.
Why Aren't We Using This to Defeat Viruses
Reviewed by ViralBlossom
on
April 24, 2020
Rating:

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