Copper in the fight against the risk of infection

Lebronze alloys, together with its scientific partners has been carrying out research for more than ten years on the behaviour of bacteria, fungi and viruses in contact with copper alloys in order to reduce the risk of infection.

The effectiveness of copper and copper alloys in killing a very large range of viruses and bacteria - including bacteria with multiple antibiotic resistance mechanisms (AMR) that cause the most problematic healthcare-associated infections - has been known for several decades and has been highlighted by numerous publications.

The installation of copper-alloy door handles and handrails in residential care facilities for the elderly has demonstrated a very large and significant difference - a reduction of about 60% - in the number of bacteria on copper surfaces compared to surfaces made of conventional materials.

The benefit for residents has been measured in outbreaks involving hand-transmitted viruses (gastroenteritis or conjunctivitis) : a recent study on a large-scale installation of copper handles and handrails has shown that the number of infected people is four times lower in areas equipped with copper alloys than in areas without.

The SARS-CoV-2 case responsible for pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

In vitro, the survival time of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus on different surfaces such as stainless steel, glass or plastic varies from a few hours to a few days, depending in particular on humidity.

This persistence on surfaces suggests that the most frequently touch surfaces could be temporary reservoirs of SARS-CoV-2 contamination, leading to a risk of hand-to-hand transmission. During the coronavirus SARS crisis (CoV-1-SARSS) in Hong Kong in 2003, the hand-to-hand transmission route appears to have been a significant factor in the occurrence of infections .

The in vitro survival time of CoV-2-SARS and other coronaviruses (MERS, CoV-1-SARS, Human Coronavirus 229E) on copper is described as much shorter than that observed on stainless steel or plastic.

This suggests that copper and copper alloys could contribute to a barrier role in the current COVID-19 pandemic and in hand-transmitted outbreaks generally.