Viruses and bacteria – spread of infection

Airborne infectious agents are small particles that float in the air and reach the airways via the breathing air. However, the most common transmission route via the airways is drip infection, i.e. infectious agents accompany the thousands of small drops that are created when coughing and sneezing.

Infectious agents can also stick to surfaces and move from surface to surface. The more people who touch a surface, the greater the risk that infectious substances will end up on the surface and then also be passed on. A good example is passing from a hand to a door handle or faucet to someone else’s hand. That is why we are asked to wash our hands frequently and carefully.

Some infectious agents can survive for several days on the surfaces where they have ended up and can keep spreading the disease. On cold metal, infectious agents can survive for as long as three days.

Most viruses, bacteria and microorganisms can be killed or inactivated by disinfectants. Ozone is one of the strongest disinfectant available.

The advantage of ozone is that it is easy to disinfect both air and hard-to-reach surfaces. Ozone, which is already gaseous under normal ambient conditions, is simply mixed with the air in the room and thus rapidly breaks down and inactivates harmful microorganisms, viruses and bacteria in the air and on surfaces, even on surfaces that are normally difficult to reach.

How effective (degree of killing or deactivation) and how fast the disinfection is, depends on the dose applied. The dose is a function of concentration of ozone and the exposure time (CT value). There are different types of bacteria and viruses. They differ in how resistant they are to disinfectants.

Increased ozone concentration results in increased killing of viruses while reducing the necessary treatment time.

The eight-hour exposure limit for ozone for people in a workplace is generally 0.1 ppm and is regulated by local laws and authorities. For ozone disinfection, the concentration exceeds 0.1 ppm, therefor you shouldn’t enter ozone-treated rooms. Afterwards, you must also make sure that all excess ozone is removed by ventilating the room before entering. This is most easily done by opening windows or if not possible, let the ventilation work for half an hour.

Ozone degrades quickly and inactivates harmful viruses and bacteria in the air and on surfaces, even on surfaces that are normally difficult to reach.

The only requirement is that the treated air/surfaces are enclosed in a room. Remediation of viruses and bacteria can be used, for example, in hospitals and health care facilities, in buses, taxis, trains, schools, ambulances and restaurants.