Coronavirus has been a cause of global health concern. Even though the pace of infection is quite controlled these days, the team of scientists has warned that the mistake of taking it lightly should not be made. Mutation is still going on in the virus due to which the danger of new variants remains. Last month, a new Omicron variant EU.1.1 was detected in some US states.
Experts say that due to vaccination and immunity built in the body, the rate of infection has reduced considerably and now it has reached the endemic stage in many countries.
A team of scientists researching how to get better protection from corona in the future has got great success. Researchers at the University of Washington have developed an air-monitoring device that can detect COVID-19 in a room with an infected person within 5 minutes. Scientists say that this will give special benefits in controlling the spread of infection and protecting people.
Air monitor will give information about virus
The results of this research, published on Monday in the journal Nature Communications, have been quite promising. Researcher and Associate Engineering Professor Rajan Chakraborty says, our team was studying to know whether corona can be detected in a closed room. This is very important for the security of a place, even if it is like finding a needle in a haystack.
With the help of this air monitor, one can get success in doing so. Now we can know whether there is a virus at any place or not.
The virus can be detected in five minutes
The team detected the virus within 5 minutes in 176 cubic feet of air using a technique called a wet cyclone. When a virus is detected, the device's light turns from green to red, which indicates that the air contains the virus and more ventilation should be provided.
The team locked two COVID-19-positive people in a room with the device during laboratory experiments and tried to find out how fast the virus can spread in the room and how quickly the device can detect it. Better results were seen.
Apart from corona, other respiratory viruses can be identified
The team of scientists is working on the next phase of this research with the goal of how this device can be designed for home use. Researchers say that by using this device in hospitals and schools, we will be able to save a large number of people from the risk of infection. The special thing is that this device is capable of detecting not only coronavirus but also influenza and other respiratory syncytial viruses.
What do researchers say?
Until now, we haven't had anything that tells us how safe a room is, says John Sirito, professor of neurology at the University of Washington. If you were in a room of 100 people, it was hard to tell until someone was infected. With this device, you can know in real-time or every 5 minutes whether there is any virus in the air or not. It can also prove to be very effective in the prevention of respiratory infectious diseases.
(PC: Freepik)
