Do Air Purifiers Help Prevent Respiratory Infections Like COVID-19? A Systematic Review of the Science

In a systematic analysis, studies on air treatment technologies and their impact on respiratory infections, particularly COVID-19, are reviewed. The conclusion is that despite common perceptions, these technologies do not significantly reduce illness rates. The effectiveness of increased ventilation is also questioned.

Exploring the efficacy of air treatment technologies in preventing respiratory illnesses like COVID-19First identified in 2019 in Wuhan, China, COVID-19, or Coronavirus disease 2019, (which was originally called "2019 novel coronavirus" or 2019-nCoV) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It has spread globally, resulting in the 2019–22 coronavirus pandemic.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>COVID-19, a systematic review emphasizes the lack of convincing evidence and the limited impact of such technologies on reducing infection rates.

The COVID pandemic led to many calls for improved indoor air quality with claims that doing so would reduce the risk of the virus spreading. But the real-world evidence to support these claims has been lacking and studies undertaken during the pandemic have not yet been reported.

So my colleagues and I reviewed the evidence before COVID and found that the balance of evidence was that air treatment does not, in fact, reduce illness from respiratory infections.

There are two main types of air treatment devices: filters and air disinfectors. Filters work by removing particles from the air that may contain infectious virusA virus is a tiny infectious agent that is not considered a living organism. It consists of genetic material, either DNA or RNA, that is surrounded by a protein coat called a capsid. Some viruses also have an outer envelope made up of lipids that surrounds the capsid. Viruses can infect a wide range of organisms, including humans, animals, plants, and even bacteria. They rely on host cells to replicate and multiply, hijacking the cell's machinery to make copies of themselves. This process can cause damage to the host cell and lead to various diseases, ranging from mild to severe. Common viral infections include the flu, colds, HIV, and COVID-19. Vaccines and antiviral medications can help prevent and treat viral infections.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>virus. Air disinfectors use ultraviolet radiation or ozone to inactivate viruses in the air.

Source: SciTechDaily

Published in COVID-19, Health, Infectious Diseases, Public Health and University of East Anglia