Ultraviolet radiation, vitamin D, and COVID-19.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has become pandemic on March 11th, 2020. COVID-19 has a range of symptoms that includes fever, fatigue, dry cough, aches, and labored breathing to acute respiratory distress and possibly death. Health systems and hospitals have been completely rearranged since March 2020 in order to limit the high rate of virus spreading. Hence, a great debate on deferrable visits and treatments including phototherapy for skin diseases is developing. In particular, as regards phototherapy very few data are currently available regarding the chance to continue it, even if it may be a useful resource for treating numerous dermatological patients. However, phototherapy has an immunosuppressive action possibly facilitating virus infection. In the context of COVID-19 infection risk it is important to pointed out whether sunlight, phototherapy and in particular ultraviolet radiation (UV-R) constitute or not a risk for patients. In this review we aimed to focus on the relationship between UV-R, sunlight, phototherapy, and viral infections particularly focusing on COVID-19.

Trends and targets in antiviral phototherapy.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a well-established treatment option in the treatment of certain cancerous and pre-cancerous lesions. Though best-known for its application in tumor therapy, historically the photodynamic effect was first demonstrated against bacteria at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, in light of spreading antibiotic resistance and the rise of new infections, this photodynamic inactivation (PDI) of microbes, such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses, is gaining considerable attention. This review focuses on the PDI of viruses as an alternative treatment in antiviral therapy, but also as a means of viral decontamination, covering mainly the literature of the last decade. The PDI of viruses shares the general action mechanism of photodynamic applications: the irradiation of a dye with light and the subsequent generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which are the effective phototoxic agents damaging virus targets by reacting with viral nucleic acids, lipids and proteins. Interestingly, a light-independent antiviral activity has also been found for some of these dyes. This review covers the compound classes employed in the PDI of viruses and their various areas of use. In the medical area, currently two fields stand out in which the PDI of viruses has found broader application: the purification of blood products and the treatment of human papilloma virus manifestations. However, the PDI of viruses has also found interest in such diverse areas as water and surface decontamination, and biosafety.

Inactivation of some pathogenic bacteria and phytoviruses by ultrasonic treatment.

High intensity ultrasound is becoming important and more widely used in the food industry for microorganisms decontamination. This sterilization technique has been evaluated to improve food safety and to replace common processing with chemical additive compounds. The efficiency of a horn-type power ultrasound treatment (300 W and 600 W, 28 kHz, 10-30 min) on Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium bacteria suspensions and phytoviruses was examined in this study. The results of this study showed that ultrasonic treatment can be used to eliminate vegetative cells of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria from 1.59 to 3.4 log in bacterial suspensions and some phytoviruses in fruits.

Inactivation of internalized and surface contaminated enteric viruses in green onions.

With increasing outbreaks of gastroenteritis associated with produce, it is important to assess interventions to reduce the risk of illness. UV, ozone and high pressure are non-thermal processing technologies that have potential to inactivate human pathogens on produce and allow the retention of fresh-like organoleptic properties. The objective of this study was to determine if UV, ozone, and high pressure are effective technologies compared to traditional chlorine spray on green onions to reduce enteric viral pathogens and to determine the effect of location of the virus (surface or internalized) on the efficacy of these processes. Mature green onion plants were inoculated with murine norovirus (MNV), hepatitis A virus (HAV) and human adenovirus type 41 (Ad41) either on the surface through spot inoculation or through inoculating contaminated hydroponic solution allowing for uptake of the virus into the internal tissues. Inoculated green onions were treated with UV (240 mJ s/cm(2)), ozone (6.25 ppm for 10 min), pressure (500 MPa, for 5 min at 20°C), or sprayed with calcium hypochlorite (150 ppm, 4°C). Viral inactivation was determined by comparing treated and untreated inoculated plants using cell culture infectivity assays. Processing treatments were observed to greatly affect viral inactivation. Viral inactivation for all three viruses was greatest after pressure treatment and the lowest inactivation was observed after chlorine and UV treatment. Both surface inoculated viruses and viruses internalized in green onions were inactivated to some extent by these post-harvest processing treatments. These results suggest that ozone and high pressure processes aimed to reduce the level of microbial contamination of produce have the ability to inactivate viruses if they become localized in the interior portions of produce.

Reduction in infection risk through treatment of microbially contaminated surfaces with a novel, portable, saturated steam vapor disinfection system.

BACKGROUND: Surface-mediated infectious disease transmission is a major concern in various settings, including schools, hospitals, and food-processing facilities. Chemical disinfectants are frequently used to reduce contamination, but many pose significant risks to humans, surfaces, and the environment, and all must be properly applied in strict accordance with label instructions to be effective. This study set out to determine the capability of a novel chemical-free, saturated steam vapor disinfection system to kill microorganisms, reduce surface-mediated infection risks, and serve as an alternative to chemical disinfectants. METHODS: High concentrations of Escherichia coli, Shigella flexneri, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Salmonella enterica, methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, MS2 coliphage (used as a surrogate for nonenveloped viruses including norovirus), Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, and the endospores of Clostridium difficile were dried individually onto porous clay test surfaces. Surfaces were treated with the saturated steam vapor disinfection system for brief periods and then numbers of surviving microorganisms were determined. Infection risks were calculated from the kill-time data using microbial dose-response relationships published in the scientific literature, accounting for surface-to-hand and hand-to-mouth transfer efficiencies. RESULTS: A diverse assortment of pathogenic microorganisms was rapidly killed by the steam disinfection system; all of the pathogens tested were completely inactivated within 5 seconds. Risks of infection from the contaminated surfaces decreased rapidly with increasing periods of treatment by the saturated steam vapor disinfection system. CONCLUSIONS: The saturated steam vapor disinfection system tested for this study is chemical-free, broadly active, rapidly efficacious, and therefore represents a novel alternative to liquid chemical disinfectants.