THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
INFECTION CONTROL IN THE COVID-19 ERA: NOVAERUS CLEARS THE AIR Now available in South Africa.
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small Irish company, Novaerus, plays a big role in infection control as the world faces a second wave of COVID-19.
As the world enters into a second wave of the COVID-19 crisis, tens of thousands of white, shoeboxsized metal devices — parked on shelves, mounted on walls — are working 24 hours a day to make indoor air safer to breathe. Whirring quietly, plugged into ordinary outlets, these devices have been installed just about everywhere — above hospital beds and surgical gurneys across Europe, adjacent to dental chairs and IVF incubators in China, on pharmacy walls in Hong Kong and school library shelves in the United States, in Irish pubs and hotel lobbies. Their unobtrusive design conceals a sophisticated and powerful technology, now deployed in 58 countries to help prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. These pathogen-killing devices represent a decade of innovation at Novaerus. Designed to control infection in high level medical settings, Novaerus technology is now generating interest well beyond hospitals. “In a world that’s been transformed, we’re helping people get back to work and return to a safe environment,” says Kieran McBrien, Senior Vice President of International Business Development.
INFECTION PREVENTION IN A PANDEMIC
When COVID-19 exploded, so did global awareness of a worrisome and accelerating phenomenon: the airborne transmission of pathogens. For decades, infection spread has plagued hospitals, driving up mortality rates, costs, and fear among patients. Even in pristine facilities, viral and bacterial particles — launched airborne by a cough, a sigh, the rustling of a bedsheet — waft about the corridors, only to be inhaled by patients or settle on bed rails, stethoscopes, and countless other high-touch surfaces. It is Novaerus’ mission to prevent pathogen spread. The company’s devices, commonly installed in criticalcare units and operating theatres, have long protected
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hospital patients from infectious outbreaks of all kinds — influenza, norovirus, tuberculosis, MRSA, aspergillosis, measles. But it was COVID-19 that put Novaerus on the map. In the pandemic’s early days, experts assumed SARSCoV-2 was spread in the community via hefty droplets, sprayed by sneezes and coughs and evaded by taking a few steps back. Then it became clear: symptom-free people were spreading the virus, too. Studies piled up confirming transmission via aerosols, infectious particles light enough to sail across a call centre or church, small enough to slip through gaps in a surgical mask. Most recently, the CDC in the United States has acknowledged COVID-19 can be spread via airborne transmission. “Now we know there’s a great range of droplet size,” says McBrien. “Whether you’re sneezing, singing, or talking, you can emit very small, very infectious particles that can remain suspended for a long time.” Infectious aerosols, whether viral, bacterial, or fungal, are no match for Novaerus patented plasma technology, NanoStrike®. This plasma-based nanotechnology kills all airborne microorganisms on contact providing the first line of protection against viruses and bacteria. NanoStrike® has been independently tested and proven effective on a wide range of airborne pathogens, including MS2 Bacteriophage, a virus used as a surrogate for SARS-CoV-2. The technology was shown to reduce the virus by 99.99%. Hospitals from Wuhan to Budapest began installing the units in their COVID wards. Then, as lockdowns eased, the hotels and pubs started calling. By deploying Novaerus NanoStrike technology, healthcare facilities, schools and businesses of all types will find themselves prepared for future waves of Covid-19 and the inevitable outbreaks of other highly infectious diseases. Light Ray Pty Ltd is the exclusive distributor of Novaerus products in South Africa . Mr Cristian F Cernat, Light Ray CTO, is available for individual or group webinars to better introduce the technology and other built environment air purification technologies. For more information contact novaerus@light-ray.com or visit www.novaerus.com.
POSITIVE IMPACT ISSUE 0.8
