A new type of ultraviolet light could be used to decontaminate indoor spaces, potentially reducing the risk of the next pandemic, experts have said.
Low doses of far-UVC – which has a shorter wavelength than conventional UV, meaning it is less harmful to human health – can kill viruses and bacteria without the safety concerns of conventional ultraviolet light, which can damage both the skin and eyes.
Experts have said if used in hospitals intermittently, the new technology could help limit the spread of infectious diseases like Covid-19 and flu.
It also holds promise in controlling the spread of bacteria including Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridioides difficile, which contribute to more than 3.5 million healthcare-associated infections occur in the European Union every year, resulting in more than 90,000 deaths.
What is UV light
According to the UCI Beckman Laser Institute, UV light is a type of electromagnetic radiation which is transmitted at waves in varying wavelengths and frequencies.
The sun produces three different types – UVA, UVB, and UVC, the latter of which has the shortest wavelength and highest energy of all three. However, it never makes it to the Earth’s surface due to the blocking effect of the ozone layer.
Artificial UVC is a known disinfectant, which can damage the genetic material of bacteria and viruses – while also causing burns of the eye and skin, in a way that is similar to UVA and UVB rays.
UV light’s virus and bacteria-killing properties have been known since the 1940s. The technology is commonly used in hospitals and prisons to control infections.
Dubai-based airport services company Dnata has also tested a robot armed with UV light on aeroplanes.
But conventional UV light can only be used when a room is empty due to the health damage it can cause.
Studies show far-UVC also kills microbes, viruses, and bacteria, reducing infectious airborne viruses by more than 99 per cent, far greater than is usually achieved using typical air filtration and ventilation.
And its shorter wavelength means it cannot penetrate human skin, eyes or tissue, so it may be safe for continuous use around people.
Traditional cleaning and disinfection strategies are not enough to reduce infectious pathogens, said experts.
“Compounding the problem, and a major limitation of traditional cleaning and disinfection strategies, is that disinfected surfaces rapidly become recontaminated between manual cleaning episodes”, said Dr Curtis Donskey from the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, who will speak about the topic at this year’s ESCMID Global Congress, which will be held in Barcelona, Spain, from April 27 to 30.
“Daily cleaning of patient rooms is likely to be inadequate to reduce the burden of infectious pathogens, and manual cleaning of intricate surfaces, equipment, and devices makes thorough cleaning difficult.”
Because of this, experts have sought new technologies which can provide continuous decontamination of occupied spaces between cleaning episodes.
The holy grail, said Dr Donskey, is a technology that is effective against surface and airborne pathogens and is automated, safe, and reasonably priced.
Far-UVC is one of the most promising candidates, he said.
“Several studies have suggested that far UVC light at the current regulatory limit may be safe for use around people, but more studies are needed to confirm the safety of these rays in clinical settings and with longer-term follow-up before it is likely that they will be routinely used in occupied healthcare settings,” he said.
“It is also vital that we assess ozone concentrations because far UVC technologies have the potential to generate modest amounts of ozone.”
The technology is already in use in some healthcare settings.
“For example, a dental office in Ohio installed far UV-C lamps in 5 patient treatment rooms in 2020 and has operated the technology for thousands of hours with no reports of adverse effects. Partnering with such early adopters could be useful to acquire information on long-term safety of far UVC,” said Dr Donskey.
He said one approach to speed up implementation more widely would be to use it intermittently until more safety data is collected.
“Such an approach would only deliver far UVC when a room is empty and turns off when people are present,” he said.
“We are currently evaluating this intermittent approach for decontamination of equipment rooms, bathrooms, sinks, and patient rooms. We anticipate that hospitals will be more willing to consider use of the technology in clinical areas using this approach while additional safety data is being generated.”
The congress will also hear about research which highlights the risk climate change poses in multiplying the threat caused by antimicrobial resistance.
Professor Sabiha Essack, South African Research Chair in Antibiotic Resistance and One Health at the Antimicrobial Research Unit, University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa will say climate change is known as a so-called “threat multiplier”.
Speaking ahead of the event, she said: “Climate change compromises the ecological and environmental integrity of living systems and enables pathogens to increasingly cause disease.
“The impact on water systems, food-producing animals and crops threatens global food supply. Human activities associated with population growth and transport, together with climate change increases antibiotic resistance and the spread of waterborne and vector- borne diseases of humans, animals and plants.”
If you go
The flights
The closest international airport for those travelling from the UAE is Denver, Colorado. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies from the UAE via London from Dh3,700 return, including taxes. From there, transfers can be arranged to the ranch or it’s a seven-hour drive. Alternatively, take an internal flight to the counties of Cody, Casper, or Billings
The stay
Red Reflet offers a series of packages, with prices varying depending on season. All meals and activities are included, with prices starting from US$2,218 (Dh7,150) per person for a minimum stay of three nights, including taxes. For more information, visit red-reflet-ranch.net.
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The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
