Why Copper is Fatal to Coronavirus (and Other Superbugs)
Germs Overdose on COPPER
For years it seemed that Copper has had magical powers to kill germs dead! The reason Copper is fatal to Coronavirus and other Superbugs (essentially a powerhouse germ killer) is tough to explain but chemist Vikram Kanmukhla gives this explanation,
“All living organisms require copper to live. If germs such as bacteria, viruses and fungi contact large amounts of copper, they overdose, the cell walls rupture, and the organisms die.” - Vikram Kanmukhla
All organisms need Copper, even humans who are often deficient in Copper (Hypocupremia). Even microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses need a small amount to live. If germs such as bacteria, viruses fungi and superbugs contact large amounts of Copper, they literally overdose, the cell walls rupture, and the organisms are destroyed.
How Our Copper infused Fabric works
*Our COPPER Ion technology becomes a permanent part of our enVy pillow liner, it won’t wash or wear off as happens with garments sprayed with a copper solution or other antimicrobial treatments.
It’s time we looked at COPPER as a powerful tool in our fight to stop the spread of disease.
Copper’s history goes back far before any current scientific ‘Studies’. Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Aztecs and Romans used copper to sanitize drinking water, clean open wounds, burns and treat headaches and ear infections. Copper was used for water storage and transmission through pipes and taps, food preparation surfaces and contact surfaces in buildings. There is no coincidence that when we replaced this material with contemporary materials such as stainless steel and plastic, there has been the dramatic rise in infections through contamination of contact surfaces in the community and healthcare facilities.
Now, centuries later these therapeutic measures on how Copper can protect us against Superbugs, are being revisited. Some hospitals are installing, or at least considering installing, copper fixtures on “high touch” surfaces that are the common breeding grounds for microbes (faucets, door handles, call buttons, railings and IV poles). Further, they are exploring the use of Copper infused fabrics on curtains, sheets, pillowcases and bed clothing because of its natural ability to kill bacteria and other microbes on contact, which can help reduce deadly infections.
“American hospitals, overall, are so bad at preventing infections that hospital-acquired infections are considered a leading cause of death in the United States.” – @Propublica
“Hospital-acquired infections sicken approximately 2 million Americans annually, and kill nearly 100,000, numbers roughly equivalent to the number of deaths if a wide-bodied jet crashed every day,” ~ Michael G. Schmidt, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston.
Research out of University of Southampton reveals that copper can prevent the transmission of lethal respiratory viruses and studies show that Copper destroys Coronaviruses, a family of viruses that include SARS and MERS and more recently the COVID -19. Previous studies have shown release of Copper ions to be essential to the ability of copper surfaces in killing bacteria and inactivating viruses (MRSA, Ebola, SARS, MERS and Coronavirus included).
Where is the Battlefield against Superbugs? Start with your cell phone.
While human-to-human transmission is important to consider, we must be diligent about infections contracted by touching surfaces contaminated by respiratory droplets from infected individuals or hand shaking … this may lead to a wider and faster spread. The battlefield for these viruses starts on touching surfaces on which they can survive for days. The biggest culprit in this new age of technology? Our CELL PHONES. The typical cellphone user touches their phone 2,617 time every day, according to a study by research firm Dscout. And then, we put the phone against our faces… very few people regularly clean their phones. It’s time to start.
“Pathogenic human coronavirus 229E remained infectious … following at least five days of persistence on a range of common non-biocidal surface materials, including polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon; PTFE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), ceramic tiles, glass, silicone rubber, and stainless steel,” ~ Researcher
The complete paper was published in mBio – a journal of the American Society for Microbiology – reports that human coronavirus 229E which causes symptoms that may be as mild as the common cold or more critical such as pneumonia. These microbes can survive on surface materials for at least five days.
Studies of the antimicrobial properties of copper surfaces is a relatively recent development after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered almost 300 different copper surfaces as antimicrobial in 2008. A number of studies have already examined contact killing upon exposure to copper and copper alloy surfaces . In general, microbes were inactivated on copper within hours. And that’s how Copper can protect us from superbugs!
Exposure to COPPER destroys Bacteria and Viruses – including Coronavirus
The paper explores the reasons for the effect, which it attributes to a combination of copper itself and reactive molecules containing oxygen that are generated on the alloy surface. Using advanced surface microscopy imaging and molecular biology techniques showed the mechanisms by which COPPER kills viruses and bacteria and other microorganisms . More specifically, “Copper generated reactive oxygen species to degrade nucleic acids and prevent horizontal gene transfer of antibiotic resistance to emerging pathogens on contact surfaces“.
There is now a large body of evidence with studies on how Copper can protect us against Superbugs, like these and other small clinical trials to suggest that incorporation of copper could play a significant role in reducing infection transmission from contaminated surfaces. With the new arrival of Coronavirus / COVID-19 in North America and around the world, it is time to investigate the use of Copper on a larger scale in hospitals, communities, our homes and beyond.
COPPER technology is a must have for keeping us naturally safe and one of the major reasons we now infuse our pillow liners with Copper! Studies on our COPPER infused pillows has shown that MRSA, E. Coli, Klebsiella is killed within 24 hrs! We plan to do many more.
