Far-UVC light: A new tool to control the spread of airborne-mediated microbial diseases.

Airborne-mediated microbial diseases such as influenza and tuberculosis represent major public health challenges. A direct approach to prevent airborne transmission is inactivation of airborne pathogens, and the airborne antimicrobial potential of UVC ultraviolet light has long been established; however, its widespread use in public settings is limited because conventional UVC light sources are both carcinogenic and cataractogenic. By contrast, we have previously shown that far-UVC light (207–222 nm) efficiently inactivates bacteria without harm to exposed mammalian skin. This is because, due to its strong absorbance in biological materials, far-UVC light cannot penetrate even the outer (non living) layers of human skin or eye; however, because bacteria and viruses are of micrometer or smaller dimensions, far-UVC can penetrate and inactivate them. We show for the first time that far-UVC efficiently inactivates airborne aerosolized viruses, with a very low dose of 2 mJ/cm2 of 222-nm light inactivating >95% of aerosolized H1N1 influenza virus. Continuous very low dose-rate far-UVC light in indoor public locations is a promising, safe and inexpensive tool to reduce the spread of airborne-mediated microbial diseases.

空气传播的微生物疾病，如流感和结核病，是公共卫生面临的重大挑战。预防空气传播的一种直接方法是灭活空气中的病原体，紫外线C（UVC）的空气抗菌潜力早已得到确认；然而，它在公共场所的广泛使用受到限制，因为传统的UVC光源具有致癌性和致白内障性。相比之下，我们之前已经表明，远紫外线C（far - UVC）光（207 - 222 nm）能有效灭活细菌，且不会对暴露的哺乳动物皮肤造成伤害。这是因为，由于其在生物材料中的强吸收性，远紫外线C光甚至无法穿透人类皮肤或眼睛的外层（非活性层）；然而，由于细菌和病毒的尺寸为微米或更小，远紫外线C可以穿透并灭活它们。我们首次表明，远紫外线C能有效灭活空气传播的雾化病毒，222nm的光只需极低剂量2 mJ/cm²就能灭活>95%的雾化H1N1流感病毒。在室内公共场所持续使用极低剂量率的远紫外线C光是一种有前景、安全且廉价的工具，可减少空气传播的微生物疾病的传播。