Avian Flu From the Desk of James Marusek

By James Marusek

(Editor's Note:  James Marusek is a retired U.S. Department of the Navy nuclear physicist and engineer who maintains a site called IMPACT.  He covers every science related issue there is.  Global Warming, meteor impacts, pesticides, health issues, origin of life and more.  You may wish to peruse my  RK)

On 27 June 2024, 9:49 A.M., I summarized the approach to survive a very deadly disease called H5N1 Avian Flu, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. I have covered a lot of information over the past several weeks on the next potential pandemic called H5N1. I have come to realize this pandemic will primarily be transmitted by insects, primarily Mosquitoes. Mosquitoes infect humans with a blood to blood transfer between infected to uninfected birds/animals/humans.

There’s a saying that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

H5N1 has spread across many types of birds dealing wave after wave of deaths. In the last few years, it has infected over 500 different species of birds, driving some to near extinction. This virus has established its presence in 108 countries, across five continents. It even transitioned to chickens. But it is on the move and has impacted many types of animals, most recently dairy cattle. It has spread to 70 mammal species globally. It is in our homes (cats and mice). During the beginning of 2025, bird flu made the transition to sheep in the U.K. It is on the move and another species is contracting this threat. It is beginning to show up in pigs as a very deadly Swine Flu. -- Pigs are a "mixing vessels" for influenza viruses, specifically those infecting birds, humans, and other pigs. If H5N1 were to become endemic in U.S. pigs, then those viruses could undergo genetic reassortment, creating entirely novel strains, very deadly human strains.

This virus has been evolving over the past few years. It began with birds and spread to animals and humans. The disease is passing across a maze of viruses in recent years including H5N1, H5N2, H5N3, H5N5, H5N6, H5N8 and H5N9. But in my opinion the primary threat is H1N1.

H1N1 decimated the human population during the First World War. It went by many names including the Spanish Flu which killed between 50 and 100 million people during the period from 1918-1919. This plague went by many names. The Americans fell ill with "three-day fever" or "purple death." The French caught "purulent bronchitis." The Italians suffered "sand fly fever." German hospitals filled with victims of Blitzkatarrh or "Flanders fever. Sand fly fever is an arthropod-borne viral disease, also known as “Phlebotomus fever”, “mosquito fever”.

From 1918 to 1919, the Spanish flu infected an estimated 500 million people globally. This amounted to about 33% of the world's population at the time. In addition, the Spanish flu killed about 50 million people, about 6 percent of the Earth's population. Since the world population has grown around 5 times in the last 100 years. The threat might impact 2.5 billion people should it materialize today. 

How were the victims of H1N1 treated in front line hospitals during 1918/1919? No matter what they called it, the virus attacked everyone similarly. It started like any other influenza case, with a sore throat, chills and fever. Then came the deadly twist: the virus ravaged its victim's lungs. Sometimes within hours, patients succumbed to complete respiratory failure. 

Autopsies showed hard, red lungs drenched in fluid. A microscopic look at diseased lung tissue revealed that the alveoli, the lungs' normally air-filled cells, were so full of fluid that victims literally drowned. 

 

The slow suffocation began when patients presented with a unique symptom: mahogany spots over their cheekbones. Within hours these patients turned a bluish-black hue indicative of cyanosis, or lack of oxygen. When triaging scores of new patients, nurses often looked at the patients' feet first. Those with black feet were considered beyond help and were carted off to die.

In my humble opinion, these diseases are transmitted by insects. An insect bites an infected bird/animal/human and then transmitted the blood directly to another bird/ animal/human. The following is a good approach to limiting the spread in humans.

1. You can protect yourself from mosquito bites in two ways. If you spend a lot of time outdoors you can create protective clothing (boots, clothing and camping gear) that repel mosquitoes by treating them with Permethrin.

2. You can also protect yourself from mosquito bites by applying mosquito repellent on you skin. This will provide short protection (several hours) to drive away mosquitoes. There are a variety of products available. They include DEET, Picaridin, IR3535, Oil of lemon, Para-menthane-diol eucalyptus, and 2-Undecanone.

3. Another product that can help prevent mosquito bites is Metofluthrin. Metofluthrin is a pyrethroid used as an insect repellent. The vapors of metofluthrin are highly effective and capable of repelling up to 97% of mosquitoes in field tests. Metofluthrin is used in a variety of  consumer products, called emanators, for indoor and outdoor use. These products produce a vapor that protects an individual or area. Effectiveness is reduced by air movement. Metofluthrin is neurotoxic, and is not meant to be applied directly to human skin.

4. Accidents can happen. What to do immediately after being bitten by a mosquito? Treat the bite with Tecnu Topical Analgesic Anti-Itch Spray (Diphenhydramine HCl 2%). There is another product that can diminish the effects of being bitten by an infected insect. It is called ChiggereX. This product contains 10% Benzocaine.

5. If you become infected with H5N1 treat the condition immediately using one of four FDA-approved antivirals for influenza: (1) Baloxavir (Xofluza), (2) Zanamivir (Relenza), (3) Peramivir (Rapivab). These are prescription drugs and will require a doctors prescription. Time is of the essence here. This condition will begin to destroy the human body and make it impossible to treat within a few days. Time is of the essence.

The latest research has shown that another drug called Oseltamivir phosphate (Tamiflu) is ineffective in treating this disease in recent cases in both humans and chickens.

6. Some people are very vulnerable to mosquito bites. These are people with open wounds. Just covering the wounded area with bandages will not protect you. Mosquitoes can smell your blood and you become a prime target. I suffered a small bleed and was attacked by around 50 mosquitoes in less then two hours outdoors. (Luckily I had protected myself with DEET before I went outside and as a result, NOT ONE MOSQUITO WAS ABLE TO BITE ME.) This may also be a problem for women who are going through their menstrual period.

7. Go on the offensive. Wage a war on mosquitoes. In general, mosquitoes live in a hot humid environment. They most commonly infest Ponds, Marshes, Swamps, and Other wetland habitats. So minimize their breeding grounds. Wage war on mosquitoes.

8. Use our friends. What, you didn't realize we have allies in our war on Mosquitoes? We have many friends. Some are birds like woodpeckers, some are other insects like dragonflies, some are fish like gambusia affinis.

9. Wastewater tracking of H5N1 can identify the specific regions in the U.S. where the outbreak is underway. One of these regions is San Francisco, California. This area could be Ground Zero of the outbreak. But we cannot monitor the threat because the funding for Wastewater tracking has been halted. But time has been wasted and H5N1 is on the move and Central Valley in California is in the epicenter.

10. Vaccinations may provide protection from a very deadly form of H5N1. A neutralizing antibody bnAb called MEDI8852, which was discovered and developed by Medimmune, now part of AstraZeneca. MEDI8852 targets a portion of a key flu protein that is less prone to change than other parts of the virus and thus is capable of conferring protection against a wide range of flu viruses. This vaccination was tested on Macaque, a species (with almost human qualities), and this vaccine provided a remarkable and measurable cure.

11. Another recent laboratory study described a vaccine that was effective in treating H1N1 in swines. The study, “Epitope-Optimized Vaccine Elicits Cross-Species Immunity Against Influenza A Virus,” describes a vaccine that protects against H1N1 swine flu can also protect against influenza in humans and birds. Swine vaccinated with the immunogens designed in Weaver’s laboratory exhibited no signs of illness after being exposed to a commonly circulating flu strain; developed antibodies against a multitude of viruses from several decades and multiple species; and maintained their immune response throughout the six-month longitudinal study. [Pigs can act as mixing vessels in which two different viruses can reassort (i.e. swap genes) and new viruses that are a mix of pig, bird, and human viruses can emerge.]

In the historic past, migrating birds were the long distance transport agents of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1. Seasonally they would move the infectious disease between the northern and southern hemispheres as the seasons changed from summer to winter. But now as humans have developed means of rapid transport, such as jet aircraft, the speed and distance this virus can spread is rapidly accelerated.

There are two paths ahead; each marked with a “Danger” signpost

By James A. Marusek April 2009

Editor's Note:  This appeared on P&D on Friday, April 3, 2009, and for some reason it's been hit recently. As everyone knows who has been a regular reader of Paradigms and Demographics Mr. James Marusek is a nuclear physicist and an engineer retired from the Navy.  He clearly demonstrates his expertise in this work.  Please follow the links as there's a lot of important information there.  I've listed all his articles I've posted dealing with Global Warming at the end of this piece.  There may links that no longer work, however his web sites, The Legacy of the Environmental Movement and IMPACT  are still up and running, so you may find what you're looking for there.  You may wish to view my entire file.  RK

The sun has gone very quiet as it transitions to Solar Cycle 24. The Ap index is a proxy measurement for the intensity of solar magnetic activity as it alters the geomagnetic field on Earth. Anthony Watts (meteorologist) referred to it as the common yardstick for solar magnetic activity. The Ap index for February and for March is "5" a slight uptick from the three consecutive months of "4's" (November 2008 - January 2009). An Ap index of "4" is the lowest recorded number since measurements began in January 1932. This solar minimum has a long ways to go before it can be declared officially over.

As of the end of March, the cumulative number of spotless days (days without sunspots) is now at 586 days. The transitions into Solar Cycles (SC16-23), referred to as recent solar cycles minimums, averaged 362 cumulative spotless days. Those minimums ranged from 227 - 568 spotless days. Since the current transition now exceeds 568 spotless days, it is becoming clear that sun has undergone a state change. It is now evident that the Grand Maxima state that has persisted during most of the 20th century has come to an abrupt end.

The old solar cycles (SC 10-15) averaged 797 spotless days, over twice that of the recent solar cycles. Those solar minimums ranged from 406 - 1028 spotless days.

An increase in the number of cumulative spotless days during a solar minimum correlates to a reduction in the number of sunspots over the entire solar cycle. The old solar cycles overall produced 38% fewer sunspots than the recent solar cycles.
We are now at a crossroad. Two paths lie before us. Both are marked with a signpost that reads “Danger”! Down one path lies monstrous solar storms. Down the other path lies several decades of crushing cold temperatures and global famine.

If either of these threats materializes, this nation will be hit blind-sighted. Both are related to the current state of the sun. The sun has been in a “Grand Maxima” for most of the past century. This has accounted for much of the natural warming the earth has experienced. But as evident in this solar minimum, the sun is changing states. It might (1) revert to the old solar cycles or (2) the sun might go even quieter into a “Dalton Minimum” or a Grand Minima such as the “Maunder Minimum”. It is still a little early to predict which way it will swing. Each of these two possibilities holds a great threat to our nation.

(1) Reverting to the “Old” Cycles (Solar Cycles 10-15)

Since the old solar cycles produced fewer sunspots, one might draw the conclusion that we will be entering a period of reduced solar storms. But this is not true. It is quite the opposite. The old solar cycles produced very intense solar storms. The greatest solar storm in modern time known as the Carrington flare of 1-2 September 1859 occurred in Solar Cycle 10. In addition to the Carrington flare, several other massive solar storms occurred during the old solar cycles. These massive solar storms occurred on 12 October 1859, 4 February 1872, 17-18 November 1882, 30 March 1894, 31 October 1903, 25 September 1909 and 13-16 May 1921. How can this be? This is because the old solar cycles produced massive sunspots. It was like the magnetic field energy was still there and had to still be released but during a shorter time interval, so the sunspots exploded in size and power.

If a solar storm of the magnitude of the Carrington flare were to occur today, the effect on our modern technologically dependent society would be grave. Of these, the greatest threat would lie in the loss of stable electrical power. A massive solar storm could destroy many of the large custom Extra High Voltage (EHV) powert ransformer in the United States. These items are unique, costly (around $10 million each) and have manufacture lead time of a year or more for replacement. In 2007, I described the effects from a massive solar storm in Solar Storm Threat Analysis

in Solar Storm Threat Analysis. I also laid out a civil defense plan for major solar storms called The Solar Storm Disaster Preparedness Plan. In 2008, the National Research Council took up the subject holding a public workshop to define the solar storm threat. Their finding (which mirrored mine) were published in a report titled Severe Space Weather Events Understanding Societal and Economic Impacts. In their findings, their bottom line was if a massive solar storm struck the United States today “it would result in large-scale blackouts affecting more than 130 million people and would expose more than 350 major transformers to the risk of permanent damage”. Imagine the effect of a total power blackout for months/years on 100 million people in the U.S. along with many millions across the globe. The report then goes on to say “Historically large storms have a potential to cause power grid blackouts and transformer damage of unprecedented proportions, long-term blackouts, and lengthy restoration times, and chronic shortages for multiple years are possible.”
(2) The Sun slipping quietly towards a Dalton Minimum or even a Grand Minima such as a Maunder Minimum.

Climate change is primarily driven by nature. It has been true in the days of my father and his father and all those that came before us. Because of science, not junk science, we have slowly uncovered some of the fundamental mysteries of nature. Our Milky Way galaxy is awash with cosmic rays. These are high speed charged particles that originate from exploding stars. Because they are charged, their travel is strongly influenced by magnetic fields. Our sun produces a magnetic field wrapped in the solar winds that extends to the edges of our solar system.

This field deflects many of the cosmic rays away from Earth. But when the sun goes quiet(minimal sunspots), this field collapses inward allowing high energy cosmic rays to penetrate deeper into our solar system. As a result, far greater numbers collide with Earth and penetrate down into the lower atmosphere where they ionize small particles of moisture (humidity) forming them into water droplets that become clouds. Low level clouds reflect sunlight back into space. An increase in Earth's cloud cover produce a global drop in temperature.

If the sun becomes quieter than the old solar cycles, producing more than 1028 spotless days,then we might slip into a Dalton Minimum or maybe even a Grand Minima such as the Maunder Minimum. This solar state will last for decades. Several solar scientist have predicted this will begin in Solar Cycle 25, about a decade from now. But a few have predicted this will occur now in Solar Cycle 24. A quiet sun will cause temperatures globally to take a nose-dive. We will experience temperatures that we have not seen in over 200 years, during the time of the early pioneers.

Temperatures are already falling. Satellites provide generally the most accurate atmospheric temperature measurements covering the entire globe. From the peak year 1998, the lower Troposphere temperatures globally have fallen around 1/2 degree Celsius due to the quiet sun. This is despite the fact that during that same time period, atmospheric carbon dioxide (at Mauna Loa) has risen 5% from 367 ppm to 386 ppm. The main threat from a “Dalton Minimum” or “Maunder Minimum” event is famine and starvation (affecting millions or hundreds of millions worldwide) due to shortened growing seasons and harsher weather. In the past, in addition to great famines, this cold harsh weather has also lead to major epidemics.

A taste of the cold weather due to a quiet sun.

Evidence of the Mississippi River, Ohio River, Allegheny River, Delaware River and Hudson River freezing and of very harsh winters.

Recent periods of quiet sun were the Dalton Minimum (1790-1830 A.D.), the Maunder Minimum (1645-1715 A.D.) and the Spörer Minimum (1420 to 1570 A.D.). The Maunder Minimum and Spörer Minimum were solar Grand Minima and each were individually referred to as the Little Ice Age.

 A few decades after the Dalton Minimum 

In the spring Eliza, a slave, carrying her young son, fled from Kentucky by crossing the Ohio River on foot. The river was “swollen and turbulent, great cakes of floating ice were swinging heavily to and fro in the turbid waters.” She leaped from one chunk of ice to the next until she reached freedom on the Ohio shore. [Source: Uncle Tomʼs Cabin. Harriet Beecher Stowe lived in Cincinnati, Ohio from 1832 to 1850. In 1851, she wrote “Uncle Tomʼs Cabin”. Her life in Ohio was intertwined in this work of fiction.] 

During the Dalton Minimum 

The Hudson River at the New York Harbor froze, enabling people to walk across the ice from Manhattan to Staten Island. The Hudson froze over completely during particularly brutal winter of 1779/1780, when the surface was solid for five weeks straight and the British rolled cannons over the ice. In 1821, taverns were constructed in the middle of the river to offer warmth and refreshment to pedestrians. 

During the Dalton Minimum 

Early settlers routinely waited till winter to cross the frozen Mississippi river in their wagon trains. In 1799, George Frederick Bollinger led a group of early pioneers from North Carolina to establish early settlements in Missouri. They hoped to cross their largest obstacle, the Mississippi River, on the ice, frozen solid in mid-winter. They arrived on the east bank of the Mississippi river opposite St. Genevieve in late December, pitched camp and explored potential river crossings. St. Genevieve is located about a hundred miles downstream from St. Louis. Daily the thickness of the ice was measured and then on December 31, a chopped hole in the ice indicated thickness well over two feet. The next day the settlers successfully drove their heavy loaded wagons across the river. [Source: “The Bollinger Migration to the Louisiana Territory”, part of "Bollinger Collection" compiled by Orena Bollinger in 1984.]

During the Dalton Minimum 

From 1803 to 1806, Captains Lewis and Clark lead a transcontinental expedition to explore the greater Northwest. During the winter of 1804/1805, the explorers set up a winter base camp near the Big Knife River near what is today the town of Bismarck, North Dakota. The winter was bitterly cold. There were 6 days with temperatures of -30oF or lower. These occurred in 1804 on December 12 (-38 degrees F), December 17 (-45 degrees F), December 18 (-32 degrees F), in 1805 on January 10 (-40 degrees F), January 11 (-38 degrees F), and January 13 (-34 degrees F). Compare this to the current low temperatures of Bismarck, North Dakota in which only one day in the past decade fell below -30 degrees F. On January 15, 2009 the temperature fell to -44 degrees F. [Sources: (1) The Journals of the Expedition under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark, (2) Weather Underground for Bismarck, ND] 

Between the Dalton Minimum and the Maunder Minimum 

December 1776 was a desperate time for George Washington and the American Revolution. During the night of December 25, Washington led his small Continental army of 2,400 troops from Pennsylvania across the Delaware River made dangerous and barely navigable by huge chunks of ice. Once across they launched a surprise attack on the Britain's Hessian mercenaries at Trenton, New Jersey, capturing 1,000 prisoners and seizing muskets, powder, and artillery. 

Between the Dalton Minimum and the Maunder Minimum 

In Boston, Massachusetts on February 22, 1772, Anna, a young school girl, writes in her diary “Since about the middle of December, we have had till this week, a series of cold and stormy weather - every snow storm (of which we have had abundance) except the first, ended with rain, by which means the snow was so hardened that the strong gales at northwest soon turned it, and all above ground to ice.” In some streets about town this mixture of ice and snow is 5 feet thick. On March 11, she writes that the snow is now 7 feet deep in some places around her house[Source: “Diary of a Boston School Girl” written by Anna Green Winslow from 1771-1773, edited by Alice Morse Earle in 1894.]  

Between the Dalton Minimum and the Maunder Minimum 

Just before the opening battles of the French and Indian War in December 1753, George Washington, then 21 years old, crossed the Allegheny River. In their first attempt, Washington and a guide used a raft to cross the ice-choked river and this ended in disaster as Washington was knocked overboard in deep water and saved himself only by catching the raft as it swept by. The severe cold that night froze their clothes and the guide's fingers. The river also froze, however, allowing them to walk across on the ice the next morning. Soon they reached the safety of an English trader's settlement.

During the Maunder Minimum 

During the Great Frost of (1683–1684) in England, the River Thames was completely frozen for two months, the ice was 11 inches thick at London. Sea ice was reported along the coasts of southeast England, and ice prevented the use of many harbors. The sea froze, so that ice formed for a time between Dover and Calais, joining England and France. The Thames was recorded to have frozen over at London during the years: 1649, 1655, 1663, 1666, 1667, 1684, 1695, 1709, and 1716.
During the Little Ice Age, growing seasons in England and Continental Europe generally became short and unreliable, which led to shortages and famine. These hardships were nothing compared to the more northerly countries: Glaciers advanced rapidly in Greenland, Iceland, Scandinavia and North America, making vast tracts of land uninhabitable. The Arctic pack ice extended so far south that several reports describe Eskimos landing their kayaks in Scotland. Finlandʼs population fell by one third, Icelandʼs by half, the Viking colonies in Greenland were abandoned altogether, as were many Inuit communities.

During the Spörer Minimum  

By 1518, early explorers made significant progress in probing and surveying the New World. They described North America as a “land of frozen seas, horrid, barren and scarcely habitable for cold”. “In the New World, cold predominates. The rigor of the frigid zone extends over half of those regions which should be temperate by their position. Countries where the grape and the fig should ripen, are buried under snow one half of the year; and lands situated in the same parallel with the most fertile and best cultivated provinces in Europe, are chilled with perpetual frosts, which almost destroy the power of vegetation.” [Source: The History of the Discovery and Settlement of America by William Robertson, 1826] 

More articles by James Marusek. 

• Challenging UN, Study Finds Sun "not CO2: May Be Behind Global Warming 
•  Legacy for Our Children
• The Difference Between History and Computer Climate Models: One is Factual and One is Faith Based. 
• Extreme Weather Forecast for the 2012 and 2014 Hurricane and Tornado Seasons
• Extreme Weather Events
• Over the Horizon
• Kilroy was here
• The Sun is Undergoing a State Change
• The Mighty Ohio
• The Approaching Winters
• The Sun Has Gone Quiet

Challenging UN, Study Finds Sun "not CO2: May Be Behind Global Warming

August 16, 2021 Eric Worrall  359 Comments

Guest essay by Eric Worrall

Climate scientist Dr. Ronan Connolly, Dr. Willie Soon and 21 other scientists claim the conclusions of the latest “code red” IPCC climate report, and the certainty with which those conclusions are expressed, are dependent on the IPCC authors’ narrow choice of datasets. The scientists assert that the inclusion of additional credible data sets would have led to very different conclusions about the alleged threat of anthropogenic global warming..........To Read More....

My Take - I've been writing about this for 25 years because 25 years ago this was known and discussed at length. My friend allowed me to publish his work,  The Sun is Undergoing a State Change 21 years ago.  Please view my files on 

Five Steps for Dramatically Reducing the Number of COVID-19 Infections and Deaths in Veteran Administration Hospitals and Homes

(Editor's Note:  James Marusek is a retired U.S. Department of the Navy nuclear physicist and engineer who maintains a site called IMPACT.  He covers every science related issue there is.  Global Warming, meteor impacts, pesticides, health issues, origin of life and more.  You may wish to peruse my  RK)

By James A. Marusek 4 May 2020 

Step 1:  Control Relative Humidity Levels Within the Facilities between 40% and 60%

This initial step was derived from a research study by a practicing pediatric oncologist, Dr. Stephanie Taylor, who analyzed the variables associated with infectious control and localized one of the prime infection variables – indoor relative humidity.  The findings were discussed in the following article: This Inexpensive Action Lowers Hospital Infections And Protects Against Flu Season.1

While practicing pediatric oncology at a major teaching hospital, Taylor wondered why so many of her young patients came down with infections and the flu, despite the hospital’s herculean efforts at prevention. Her hunch: the design and infrastructure of the building contributed somehow.

She and colleagues studied 370 patients in one unit of a hospital to try to isolate the factors associated with patient infections. They tested and retested 8 million data points controlling for every variable they could think of to explain the likelihood of infection. Was it hand hygiene, fragility of the patients, or room cleaning procedures? Taylor thought it might have something to do with the number of visitors to the patient’s room.

While all those factors had modest influence, one factor stood out above them all, and it shocked the research team. The one factor most associated with infection was (drum roll): dry air. At low relative humidity, indoor air was strongly associated with higher infection rates. “When we dry the air out, droplets and skin flakes carrying viruses and bacteria are launched into the air, traveling far and over long periods of time. The microbes that survive this launching tend to be the ones that cause healthcare-associated infections,” said Taylor. “Even worse, in addition to this increased exposure to infectious particles, the dry air also harms our natural immune barriers which protect us from infections."

Since that study was published, there is now more research in peer-reviewed literature observing a link between dry air and viral infections, such as the flu, colds and measles, as well as many bacterial infections, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is funding more research. Taylor finds one of the most interesting studies from a team at the Mayo Clinic, which humidified half of the classrooms in a preschool and left the other half alone over three months during the winter. Influenza-related absenteeism in the humidified classrooms was two-thirds lower than in the standard classrooms—a dramatic difference. Taylor says this study is important because its design included a control group: the half of classrooms without humidity-related intervention.

Scientists attribute the influence of dry air to a new understanding about the behavior of airborne particles, or “infectious aerosol transmissions.” They used to assume the microbes in desiccated droplets were dead, but advances in the past several years changed that thinking. “With new genetic analysis tools, we are finding out that most of the microbes are not dead at all. They are simply dormant while waiting for a source of rehydration,” Taylor explained. “Humans are an ideal source of hydration, since we are basically 60% water. When a tiny infectious particle lands on or in a patient, the pathogen rehydrates and begins the infectious cycle all over again.”

These findings are especially important for hospitals and other health settings, because dry air is also associated with antibiotic resistance, which can devastate whole patient populations. Scientists now believe resistant organisms do not develop only along the Darwinian trajectory, where mutated bacteria produce a new generation of similarly mutated offspring that can survive existing antibiotics. Resistant pathogens in infectious aerosols do not need to wait for the next generation, they can instantly share their resistant genes directly through a process called horizontal gene transfer.

The bottom line from her research is that to control viral and bacterial infections (including coronavirus infections) in hospitals and other indoor settings, an inexpensive approach is to maintain these indoor settings within the “sweet spot”, the range of 40 to 60 percent relative humidity.

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These findings are supported by a recent article in the Annual Review of Virology in a paper titled “Seasonality of Respiratory Viral Infections”. 2

The term seasonal infection associates a specific infection with a distinct season of the year. Consequently, the perceived relationship between infections and seasonal climate is considered to be causal. This was accurate to some extent when humans lived and worked outdoors with minimal protection from even the most severe climate conditions. The industrial revolutions changed all this. Outdoor agricultural workplaces were relocated into factories and offices, moving human lifestyle away from nature and outdoor climate. With the widespread introduction of central heating and increasingly airtight, insulated building shells, a consistent thermal comfort zone could be maintained indoors, causing even further disconnection from daily and seasonal outdoor climate fluctuations. This disconnection is particularly evident in winter, when indoor heating causes a major divergence of indoor and outdoor temperature and relative humidity (RH).

In the industrialized world, most people interact, work, sleep, commute, and spend 90% of their lifetime in enclosed spaces, where they share a limited amount of breathing air.  This implies that the overwhelming majority of person-to-person transmission events happen indoors. The multiple factors described in Figure 1 modulate the spatiotemporal onset and progression of seasonal respiratory viral infections. With this in mind and focusing on temperate regions, we discuss the importance of environmental factors on the transmission of respiratory viruses and the host immune response.

There are numerous findings in current literature that correlate the viability of influenza virus, suspended within the droplet matrix, with the degree of droplet evaporation and the associated supersaturation of the enclosed ingredients. The state of vapor equilibrium in room air, expressed as saturation ratio or RH, affects all infectious droplets with respiratory viruses, independent of their source (respiratory tract or aerosolized from any fluid) and location (in air or settled on surfaces). RH  therefore affects all transmission ways but has the most pronounced effect on airborne transmission.  Animal transmission studies with guinea pigs and ferrets have revealed that the equilibrium state in high RH (60%) and low RH (40%) seems to allow viability of influenza virus in droplets, while intermediate RH (40% to 60%) viruses become inactivated (Table 1).

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Lowen and Palese predict that aerosol transmission predominates during the winter season in temperate regions (because dry and warm indoor climate allows stability of influenza viruses in desiccated droplet nuclei that stay airborne for prolonged periods), while contact is the major mode of spread in the tropics (because in warm and humid climates, droplets evaporate less water and readily settle on surfaces). This hypothesis is illustrated in Table 1 and has considerable effect on proper precautions and public health measures against respiratory virus infections in different parts of the world and in different seasons.

Additionally, humidity also affects the human immune systems performance.

The intrinsic barrier provides the first line of defense against respiratory viruses on the mucosal surface of the respiratory epithelium.  The mucosal surface of the respiratory tract is continuously exposed to inhaled environmental air containing volatile and nonvolatile pollutants and potentially various pathogens. Multi-tiered host airway defense systems prevent infection by incoming respiratory viruses. Seasonal fluctuations of temperature and humidity of the inhaled air have been shown to directly affect the airway mucosal surface defense at multiple levels (Figure 3).  

One of the bottom lines from this paper is in order to limit respiratory virus transmission in winter, humidify indoor air to maintain relative humidity levels between 40-60% at room temperature.

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The approach of using humidification to minimize viral transmissions is fairly common knowledge among the building trades.  The following graphs was created by the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)

Effect of Relative Humidity on Virus Transmissibllity.3

Some might argue that the COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus and not like other coronaviruses or influenza viruses.  So maybe it is time to remove the novel from the coronavirus.  This particular coronavirus is a seasonal virus.  In general, these viral infections roar into existence during the cold winter months when humidity levels are at their lowest and then die in the spring when humidity levels return back to normal.  The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has shown that to be the case.

The Science and Technology group within DHS has been performing tests on live COVID-19 viruses in an advanced bio containment lab in Maryland, just outside the national Capital.  They presented their research findings at the daily White House briefing a few days ago.  Bill Bryan, the head of the science and technology directorate at the Department of Homeland, said that solar light along with high temperatures and humidity have a “powerful effect” of creating environments less favorable for the virus to survive.

 A chart released by during the White House coronavirus task force by the DHS showed that the novel coronavirus dies within two minutes in hot summer humidity while on surfaces and a minute and a half while in the air.  "Coronavirus dies at a much more rapid pace when exposed to sunlight and humidity,” Bryan said during the White House briefing. “The virus dies the quickest in direct sunlight.4

So what does this mean? The COVID-19 coronavirus will die off as the humidity levels rise in the spring. Sunlight and especially far ultraviolet light (UVC) component rapidly kills the virus. COVID-19 is a seasonal infection similar to that of the influenza virus.

 

To implement this finding, two elements are required.  The first is an inexpensive but accurate temperature/humidity thermometer so you can measure the indoor humidity levels and the second is a means of controlling indoor humidity levels.  A humidifier is normally used to interject moisture into the low humidity air.  A dehumidifier or air conditioner is normally used to remove excess humidity from the air.  This photograph shows a low cost temperature/humidity thermometer.  

  

Step 2:  Install UVC Sanitizers in HVAC Ductwork

One of the points I found very interesting in the article on Dr. Taylor’s research was "Scientists attribute the influence of dry air to a new understanding about the behavior of airborne particles, or “infectious aerosol transmissions.” They used to assume the microbes in desiccated droplets were dead, but advances in the past several years changed that thinking. “With new genetic analysis tools, we are finding out that most of the microbes are not dead at all. They are simply dormant while waiting for a source of rehydration,” Taylor explained. “Humans are an ideal source of hydration, since we are basically 60% water. When a tiny infectious particle lands on or in a patient, the pathogen rehydrates and begins the infectious cycle all over again.”

So consider for a moment that there exist three modes of transmission for the virus. Originally we were told that when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks, they spray the air with large respiratory mucus droplets, which falls to the ground or on tables or shelves or other objects. We then touch these and then touch our mouth or nose and contaminate ourselves. Thus if we maintain a 3 foot social distance we are safe and wash our hands a million times per day with soap and water to stop the spread. But that was not true. Because when a person coughs they also spread very fine moist aerosols that can travel up to 15 feet, so maybe wearing a face mask might be beneficial after all. But that is not totally accurate either. There is another form of transmission, a third form. [I feel this is a predominant form that is commonly overlooked] Viruses are not living things; they need a host - a living human body to replicate.  In a low humidity environment, a virus can dry out and when they become desiccated they become very light and can become airborne and travel great distances (perhaps 100 feet).  [Think of a room with a layer of feathers on the floor. The slightest breeze or motion will lift the feathers up into the air and allow them to float.  But if you take a garden hose and water down the feathers, they are heavier and cling to the ground.] These desiccated airborne virus cells float through the air looking for a host. You walk along and take a deep breath and pull some into your moist wet throat. They rehydrate and begin to reproduce infecting the host.

In my humble opinion, these airborne desiccated virus cells can be sucked into Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems and concentrated to produce enhanced viral loads.  So is there any evidence this is occurring?

Concerns that COVID-19 can spread through the air have increased after researchers in Wuhan, China discovered the genetic material of the coronavirus in airborne droplets in two hospitals, according to a new study.  The research, published in the scientific journal Nature, found the virus' ribonucleic acid (RNA) in different areas of the two hospitals in February and March. Although the RNA discovered in isolation wards and ventilated patient rooms were "very low," there was an "elevated" level in patients' toilet areas, the researchers found.  "Although we have not established the infectivity of the virus detected in these hospital areas, we propose that SARS-CoV-2 may have the potential to be transmitted via aerosols," the researchers wrote in the study's abstract.5

In March, a joint study by the University of Nebraska Medical Center, the National Strategic Research Institute at the University of Nebraska, and others found genetic material from the virus that causes COVID-19 in air samples from both in and outside of confirmed coronavirus patients’ rooms.  The findings offer, “limited evidence that some potential for airborne transmission exists."

A newly published research letter suggests that three healthy families in China may have contracted the coronavirus virus after it traveled via air conditioning at a restaurant that also served infected people.  The early-release research letter, which will be published in the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal in July, notes that 10 people from 3 different families were affected during the period of Jan. 26-Feb. 10, 2020, at a restaurant in Guangzhou, China.  Those who became infected were a result of where they sat in the restaurant, which was in relationship with strong airflow from the air conditioner. They found that the other 73 patrons were not affected.6

Bill Bryan, chief of the science and technology directorate at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security indicated, "Our most striking observation to date is the powerful effect that solar light appears to have on killing the virus [COVID-19], both on surfaces and in the air.”  Bryan explained the mechanics of the COVID-19 temperature tolerance experiment in simple terms. "We're able to take a particle of a virus and suspend it in the air inside of this drum and hit it with various temperatures, various humidity levels, multiple different kinds of environmental conditions to include sunlight. And we're able to measure the decay of that virus while it's suspended in the air. This is how we do our aerosol testing".  He said in a room at 70-75ºF temperatures with 20 percent humidity, the half-life of the virus is about an hour. "But you get outside and it cuts down to a minute and a half, very significant difference when it gets hit with UltraViolet (UV) rays".  Bryan said the DHS bio containment lab is the only one in America that has the capability to do the kind of testing that has led to the research on the virus' UV and temperature tolerance.7

Far UltraViolet (UVC) radiation (100nm-290 nm) has germicidal properties.  UVC light is well known to possess a very powerful germicidal effect capable of inactivating a wide spectrum of microorganisms, such as viruses, bacteria, protozoa, fungi, yeasts, and algae, through the formation of pyrimidine dimers, the photoproducts of genetic materials.

Bacteria and viruses are of micrometer or smaller dimensions; UVC can penetrate and inactivate them.  For example, research studies on influenza virus demonstrated that UVC radiation can efficiently inactivates airborne aerosolized viruses, with a very low dose of 2 mJ/cm2 of 222-nm light inactivating >95% of aerosolized H1N1 influenza virus.8

Scientific studies show that the majority of infections are occurring indoors and not outdoors. The infections are being passed indoors. But that problem is not difficult to solve. There is a simple cheap solution that exists. It is installing UVC sanitizers into the HVAC ductwork. It kills any airborne viruses passing through the ductwork.

So the second step is to kill the microbes freely moving about in the air using ultraviolet light.  This can be done using off-the-shelf far ultraviolet (UVC) technology that has been around since mid-20th century.  It is commonly referred to as ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, (UVGI) technology.

Some homes and business currently are equipped with this technology built into their HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems.  Ultraviolet light can eliminate many types of fungi, bacteria, germs, viruses and pathogens.  This dramatically reduces the level of the viruses within buildings.9

The goal of such UV tools isn't to kill every virus.  The human body has a built-in immune system that deals with most of the threat.  But it is important to not overload the immune system and allow the body time to develop the antibodies that will be needed to provide protection.  So basically the desire is to minimize the exposure level.  This technology will reduce the number of viruses by a number of orders of magnitude so that the remaining viruses can be killed by the immune system.

This is an example of the technology.  This product is in the $90 price range.  It is designed as an add-on to an existing HVAC system.

The product description reads: All our units have electronic ballast and have a sight glass to see if unit is on. All our bulbs are germicidal UVC and put out 253.7NM, which means that they are 99% efficient on a single pass. Installation is very easy 15 min, just cut 2 holes of 1 inch in your ductwork (template included) slip the lamp inside and attach the aluminum strips (included in box) and plug it in, 9 ft cord.

---

But some VA hospitals and homes may lack HVAC system.  There are alternatives.  There are a variety of stand-alone air purifiers on the market and some are equipped with UVC sanitizers.  Some of these air purifiers have HEPA air filters that filter out 99.97 percent biological material efficient down to 0.3 microns of particle size, similar to an N100 face mask.  But then they combine this with UVA system that destroys airborne bacteria, mold spores, and viruses.  Other air purifiers incorporate the array of HEPA, Ionic, UV and Carbon filters.

My house does not have a centralized HVAC system.  So I purchased a stand-alone air purifier from my home.  I wanted something that incorporated UVC but otherwise I wanted something pretty bare bones.  I wanted something that was extremely quiet so it would not interrupt my sleep.  HEPA filters generally are not quiet units.  A bare bones unit will also require minimal electricity.  This can become important in a large facility because putting several online at the same time could cause existing circuit breakers to blow. 

So I went out and ordered a small unit so I could experiment with it. Put an order in Amazon on Monday and it arrived on Friday. It is small enough that it could easily fit next to my desk at work and not blow a circuit breaker in the process.

It is a small little unit. I put a Coca-Cola glass next to it for size comparison. The unit includes an electrostatic collecting, ozone filter and activated carbon filter, powerful UV lamp and a negative ionizer. It uses very little electricity to operate - 600 milliamps. The fan is whisper quiet. I have been using it for over a month. I noticed that my breathing was improved when I slept. I suspect that the unit reduced some of the smoke particles from the wood stove that I use to heat my home.

To sum this up - In My Humble Opinion (IMHO), the coronavirus threat can be controlled. You have to step out of the box a little to understand the process. In a way it falls under Engineering. When people are crammed close together in cruise ships, airplanes, buses, offices, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, jails, etc. the virus is spread from one person to the next rapidly. Much of the virus contamination occurs in an indoor setting. If you can properly control the indoor environment you can minimize the transmission rates. There are two ways to dramatically lower the infection rate in the indoor environment. These are to control the indoor relative humidity levels between 40 and 60 percent. The second is to destroy the ability of the virus to infect a person. One method is to use far ultraviolet light (UVC) to destroy the virus.

Step 3:  Implement Expanded Screening for Site Access

One of the problems with COVID-19 infections is the high number of asymptomatic carriers, those individuals that do not show symptoms.  So it would be advantageous to expand screening for the VA hospitals and nursing homes to include a screening for symptomatic individuals (such as using a forehead infrared thermometer) along with a means of screening out asymptomatic carriers.

I remember back in the early days of this pandemic as the TSA tried to impose screening test at airports to keep the coronavirus out.  Many times one would see an agent with a handheld infrared thermometer taking travelers forehead temperatures. But there were people who were asymptomatic, they showed no symptoms, they had no fever, but they were infected and able to pass the disease onto others. Thus the U.S. even though it tried to build a firewall against the disease was unable.

Doctors have observed a strange trend in more COVID-19 patients: people with blood oxygen saturation levels that are very low but who aren't gasping for breath.  Although often quite ill, these patients are not presenting symptoms like most acute respiratory distress syndromes, which is a lung failure previously associated with the SARS outbreak in 2003 and other respiratory diseases.  These types of patients are alert and feeling relatively well, but their lungs are not performing their proper function. This presentation is known as "silent hypoxia" and it's causing some people to arrive at the hospital in worse health than they realize.  Silent hypoxia progressing rapidly to respiratory failure explains cases of COVID-19 patients dying suddenly despite not feeling short of breath.10

Silent hypoxia sounds very similar to another condition called walking pneumonia.  “Walking pneumonia,” sounds like it could be the name of a sci-fi horror flick. But it's actually the least scary kind of pneumonia. It can be milder than the other types, and you usually don’t have to stay in the hospital. You could have walking pneumonia and not even know it. Walking pneumonia is how some people describe a mild case of pneumonia.  Anyone can get it. Walking pneumonia from mycoplasma is most common in children, military recruits, and adults younger than 40.  People who live and work in crowded places -- such as schools, dorms, military barracks, and nursing homes -- are more likely to come into contact with it.  Walking pneumonia spreads through sneezes or coughs. But it spreads slowly. If you get it, you could be contagious (which means you could spread it to other people) for up to 10 days.  Researchers think it takes a lot of close contact with an infected person for a healthy person to catch walking pneumonia.

IMHO individuals with “walking pneumonia” from an influenza virus or “silent hypoxia” from a coronavirus are infected carriers capable of transmitting the infection.  They are asymptomatic carriers.  It would be productive to screen for these individuals and restrict them from site access.  One simple method is using a pulse oximeter.

Pulse oximeters have become common in the modern world. Just as thermometers measure your temperature; pulse oximeters clamp onto your fingertip and measure the oxygen in your blood.  They are available on Amazon for under $20.

The pulse oximeter, or Pulse Ox, is an electronic device that measures the saturation of oxygen carried in your red blood cells. The device uses a cold light source that shines a light through the fingertip, making the tip appear to be red. By analyzing the light from the light source that passes through the finger, the device is able to determine the percentage of oxygen in the red blood cell (SpO2); a normal reading is typically between 95 and 100 percent. However, in COPD or other lung diseases, these ranges may not apply.  For example, it isn’t uncommon for people with severe COPD to maintain their pulse ox levels (SpO2) between 88 to 92 percent.  In most individuals a reading below 90% indicates hypoxemia—a condition in which there is a deficiency of oxygen in the blood, which is normally associated with severe pneumonia.11

If a person is wearing dark fingernail polish, long, artificial nails or if your fingers are not clean, the pulse oximeter may not work properly.

A pulse oximeter can be used to screen for asymptomatic carriers.  Anyone seeking access to the site such as medical staff, caregivers, patients and visitors should undergo not only forehead temperature test but also pulse oximeter test.

But the test is not fool proof.  I might also uncover an existing chronic lung condition.  Therefore if a person has a pulse oximeter reading of 90% or below and additional screening test might also be useful

I recently watched a video about a new test kit developed by the National Taiwan University's College of Medicine to rapidly assess lung health in 30 seconds.  Developers are touting it as a cheap preliminary diagnostic tool for COVID-19.  Developers say it can check lung condition and screen for the first signs of the coronavirus, long before the patient shows any symptoms.  The device has a permit application pending, and developers at National Taiwan University's College of Medicine hope it will be rolled out across the country soon. They say it can even be used at airports as a fast screening for travelers entering the country. Two devices, rather like earmuffs, are placed on the sides of the abdomen. Within 30 seconds, data on the person’s lung quality comes on screen.  A continuous reading of six indices of lung health, including a measure of fluid in the lungs, is produced. A warning comes up if safe levels are exceeded. It can be used to test for standard pneumonia and lung cancer. Developers believe it can also serve as a new preliminary screening for COVID-19.  Prof. Lin Shih-ming of NTU College of Medicine stated our current screening methods are all nucleic acid tests. It’s not possible to be sure if the virus has entered the lungs. We can compare our data to an X-ray and see whether the lungs have the “frosted glass” pattern typical of COVID-19. The portable device was assembled at NTU College of Medicine’s Institute of Medical Device and Imaging. Variations in electromagnetic frequency are used to swiftly assess the health of a patient’s chest. Developers say the brief test can indicate if there’s excess fluid in the lungs, even if no COVID-19 symptoms are presenting. Further tests then provide more precise diagnoses. As a non-invasive device that consumes negligible resources, one piece costs just NT$750 [~$25.00] to produce, allowing mass distribution. It’s fast. It can test both lungs in just 30 seconds, showing if there are any pulmonary infiltrates or pulmonary edema. Another thing is it can be administered indiscriminately, as a widespread, instant screening for everybody.

This is the address for the YouTube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W56Z2K1h9o&feature=emb_logo

Step 4:  Face Masks Requirements

There are a variety of face masks and respirator masks available.  They offer varying degrees of protection from the virus.  An N95 respirator is a respiratory protective device designed to achieve a very close facial fit and very efficient filtration of airborne particles.  The N95 masks, when properly fitted, seal closely to the face and filter out 95% of particles 0.3 microns or larger.  The N95 mask effectively prevents viral spread.  N95s are the most common but other types will also work.  Other masks such as N99s removes 99% of particles that are at least 0.3 microns in diameter.  N100s and P100s removes 99.97% of all particles that are 0.3 microns in diameter or larger.

  

In general, those in VA hospitals and homes represent a very vulnerable population (age, co-morbidities, weakened immune systems).  When the threat of infection is present after the coronavirus has penetrated our nation’s firewalls, I feel that all patients, medical staff, visitors, cleaning staff, etc. within the site should wear N95 facemask or better.

Generally these mask are inexpensive.  Normally they run around $2 each when mass-produced.  But during this pandemic several problems arose.

* First, the stockpile of strategic Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including masks were fairly depleted from the U.S. federal emergency stockpile.

* Manufacture of the PPEs in many cases had been shifted offshore, primarily China.  As a result procurement of masks were restricted and price gouging took place.

* In the initial days of this pandemic, I personally noticed several incidents of oriental individuals purchasing entire stocks of various types of mask from our big box stores, presumably to ship back to China.  This left our commercial stocks depleted.   There were stories that people were hoarding masks but from my observation and opinion, all masks were being vacuumed up from the U.S. and shipped overseas.

I suspect steps are being taken by the U.S. government to resolve these shortfalls and that quickly N95s or greater will become readily available soon.  Therefore since N95s or better will be available, since they control the spread of viruses effectively, and since the population in the VA facilities are some of the most vulnerable, I feel all individuals within the VA facilities should wear these mask to control the spread.

Another problem with wearing mask is patient resistance to wearing masks.  Many individuals do not wear face mask properly.  They must fit over both the mouth and the nose.  Having a tight seal is important; facial hair can interfere.  As a result, beards need to be shaved to obtain a proper seal.  So in a way I can understand there might be some resistance to wearing N95.  We can be rather ornery and headstrong at times and I don’t really feel this requirement should be forced on Veterans.  But most Veterans are patriotic.  And perhaps one might appeal to their sense of duty.  The discussion might be reframed that the coronavirus is a danger to their doctors, nurses and caregivers (many of which have died from this coronavirus) and appeal to their sense of coming to the plate and protecting those individuals who are taking care of them.

N95 masks because they have been normally inexpensive items are treated as throwaways.  Use them once and then toss them. But that is the heart of another problem. As people throw them away, they need to buy replacements.  Due to demand, stocks are quickly depleted.  Store selves empty and they become an out-of-stock item.  Try buying an N95 mask in February or March of this year even when the virus was not even endemic in the U.S. was difficult.  Some people have resorted to washing the used mask in water but that destroys the mask integrity.

N95 mask can be reused, especially when used intermittently.  But they will need to be properly sanitized between uses.  So from my personal experience:

Around ten years ago, I bought a box of 10 N95 masks and put them on a shelf to store away for a rainy day.  The masks since they had been sitting in the garage for 10 years became very mildew.  My wife refused to wear them.  So I sanitized them.  They were stored in a plastic bag.  So I dropped a few drops of Tea Tree Oil in the bag and sealed if for a few days.  Then I took the mask out and let them air out.  We had one good sunny day, so I took them outside and hung them for a day in the sunlight.  At this point the mildew was gone.  So every time we went into the outside world, we wore these masks.  Generally these masks are designed to be worn one day and then disposed of.  But if the use is intermittent, they can be reused provided they don't become wet.  So every time we wore the mask, I would hang them out in the sun to recondition them.  It has been two months now and we are still wearing the same masks.  These mask are normally inexpensive items.  I think I paid around a dollar each ten years ago when I bought them.

This mask will protect me (a vulnerable 71 year old) from breathing in coronavirus particles.  If my hands touch a surface that contains the virus and I accidentally touch my face, the mask stops the transmission.  If fine moist aerosols of the virus are released when a nearby person coughs, the mask stops those too.  If the virus particles dry out in low humidity environments, become very lightweight and become airborne and travel long distances.  They stop those particles also. They are the perfect masks.

Now the second item that I considered important was a means of sanitizing the mask, a way of removing all the virus particles from the mask between uses. There is a solution for that.  It is called a sanitizer box.  It will treat the mask with UVC light and ozone that will destroy any viruses and bacteria on the mask.  These devices have been around for several years now.  They commonly used to sanitize cell phones, wallets, baby pacifiers, money, keys, baby bottles, toys, beauty tools, toothbrushes, jewelry, etc.  But they can also be used to sterilize the N95 mask between uses.  They run around the $100 range.  So I ordered one through Amazon.  Like many other things nowadays, they are manufactured in China and it took over a month to receive it.  This is what the sanitizer box looks like.  It has an 8-minute decontamination cycle.

But there is another type of mask available.  It is a better mask.  It is called a RespoKare Antiviral Mask.  These are very unique mask incorporating metal salts into the design.  They will not only filter out viruses but also kill (deactivate) them at the same time.  This mask is manufactured by RespoKare.12

It is the only face mask that has demonstrated its anti-viral properties via extensive laboratory testing on airborne viruses.  Accepted formally by the FDA, they created a brand new medical device classification (“OUK”) to accommodate RespoKare’s innovations in infection control and respiratory protection.  RespoKare Anti-Viral Mask is the first and only anti-viral mask to receive 510(k) clearance for sale in USA (May 26, 2011).  This face mask will inactivate 99.99% of 18 flu viruses and 12 airborne diseases.  When tested against coronavirus (SARS and MERS), the mask kills (inactivates) greater than 99.99% of those viruses within 1 minute.

Step 5:  Develop Better Ventilators

Far Ultraviolet Light (UVC) kills viruses and bacteria. Patients in hospitals often are exposed to secondary infections that kill them. These go by the name Healthcare-Associated Infection (HAI). Some patients are so weak they cannot even breath by themselves and require a ventilator. A ventilator is a machine that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insufficiently. I recommend that we redesign intensive care ventilators to incorporate UVC sanitizers into ventilator construction. From my perspective this would be a simple inexpensive modification.  

These photographs are examples of commonly used intensive care ventilators: A. Dräger Infinity V500, B. Hamilton G5, C. Maquet Servo i, D. Covidien PB840 13

In my humble opinion it is critically important to minimize the spread of viruses and bacteria both into the respiratory tract of the patient and out of the patient.  This is to protect the patient from HAI infection and to protect the caregivers who support the patient.  UVC sanitization is an ideal mechanism.

This is a flow schematic of a typical intensive care ventilator.  In this case it is a pneumatic schematic of the Dräger Infinity V500 intensive care ventilator.   A. Gas-mixture and gas-metering assembly. Gas from the supply lines enters the ventilator via the gas-inlet connections for oxygen and air (1,2). Two nonreturn valves (3,4) prevent one gas from returning to the supply line of the other gas. Mixing takes place in the tank (7) and is controlled by two valves (5,6). Inspiratory flow is controlled by a third valve (8). B. Inspiratory unit consists of safety valve (9) and two nonreturn valves (10,11). In normal operation, the safety valve is closed so that inspiratory flow is supplied to the patient’s lungs (12). During standby, the safety valve is open and enables spontaneous inspiration by the emergency breathing valve (11). The emergency expiratory valve (10) provides a second channel for expiration when the expiratory valve (13) is blocked. C. Expiratory unit consists of the expiratory valve (13) and a nonreturn valve (14). The expiratory valve is a proportional valve and is used to adjust the pressure in the patient circuit. In conjunction with the spring-loaded valve of the emergency air outlet (10), the nonreturn valve (14) prevents pendulum breathing during spontaneous breathing. D. Expiratory flow sensor. E. Barometric pressure sensor. Conversion of mass flow to volume, body temperature and pressure saturated (BTPS) requires knowledge of ambient pressure. F. Pressure measurement assembly. Pressure in the patient circuit is measured with two independent pressure sensors (18,20). G. Calibration assembly. The pressure sensors are regularly zero calibrated by connection to ambient pressure via the two calibration valves (17,19). H. Oxygen sensor. I. Medication nebulizer assembly. 13

A better ventilator can prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia.  UVC can also be used to address ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP). Though it occurs in only 1% to 2% percent of patients using mechanical ventilators, VAP mortality rates are greater than 50%. Focused UVC energy could disinfect complex passageways, in-vitro components and even nebulizer equipment in-situ without heating the target surfaces.14

References

1.  Leah Binder, This Inexpensive Action Lowers Hospital Infections And Protects Against Flu Season, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2019

2. Miyu Moriyama,Walter J. Hugentobler, and Akiko Iwasaki, (2020), Seasonality of Respiratory Viral Infections, Annual Review of Virology, 16 March 2020, 7:2.1–2.19.

3.  Central Heating & Air Conditioning, [Figure based on American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), https://www.centralhtg.com/blog/managing-home-humidity- for-maximum-comfort

4.  Trump, officials suggest coronavirus is weakened by sunlight and humidity

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-coronavirus-sunlight-heat-and-humidity

5.  Coronavirus genetic material discovered in air of two Wuhan hospitals: researchers

https://www.foxnews.com/science/coronavirus-genetic-material-wuhan-discovered-hospitals

6.  Coronavirus may have spread via air conditioning in Chinese restaurant, researchers warn

https://www.foxnews.com/science/coronavirus-spread-via-air-conditioning-chinese-restaurant

7.  Sunlight, Humidity Damages Novel Coronavirus, Says the White House

https://weather.com/en-IN/india/coronavirus/news/2020-04-24-sunlight-humidity-damages-novel-coronavirus-says-the-white-house

8.  Welch, D., Buonanno, M., Grilj, V. et al. Far-UVC light: A new tool to control the spread of airborne-mediated microbial diseases. Sci Rep 8, 2752 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-21058-w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpbUoLvpdCo

9.  Separating Fact from Myth on HVAC  UV Light Benefits, https://www.lincolntech.edu/news/skilled-trades/hvac/separating-fact-from-myth-on-hvac-uv-light-benefits

10.  'Silent hypoxia' may be killing COVID-19 patients, but one doctor offers a possible solution

https://www.foxnews.com/science/silent-hypoxia-covid-19-patients-doctor-solution

11.  World Health Organization (WHO), Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Report – 41, of 01 March 2020,  https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200301-sitrep-41-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=6768306d_2

12.  RespoKare Anti-Viral Mask, https://respokare.com

13.  Chapter 3. Basic Principles of Ventilator Design, https://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=520&sectionid=41692239%20

14.  3 ways to integrate UVC LEDs into medical devices