Study: Mouthwash Can Kill Coronavirus In Less Than A Minute

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Preliminary results from a study conducted by Cardiff University shows that mouthwashes exposed to the novel coronavirus can be inactivated within 30 minutes.
• According to the report, mouthwashes that have 0.07 percent cetylpyridinium chloride can help weaken the transmission of the coronavirus.
• However, study author Richard Stanton that despite the promising findings, people should still observe safety guidelines of wearing masks, distancing and sanitizing the hands.

Some over-the-counter mouthwashes can potentially eliminate the novel coronavirus within 30 minutes when exposed to the virus in a lab, according to a Monday report from researchers from Cardiff University, Wales.

Mouthwashes containing at least 0.07 percent cetylpyridinium chloride showed an ability to destroy the virus, according to preliminary data which has yet to be reviewed by other scientists. 

The study adds to mounting evidence that several types of mouthwash designed to combat gum disease can also eradicate the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus when tested under conditions that simulate the oral/nasal cavity.

Study lead author Richard Stanton said the outcomes indicate ‘promising signs’ that mouthwashes can help mitigate the transmission of the virus. But since the findings are still preliminary, he emphasized the importance of following preventive measures enforced by experts such as mask use, social distancing and washing hands.

The report comes ahead of an ongoing clinical trial on COVID-19 patients at the University Hospital of Wales that will test if lab results can be reproduced in the patients, BBC News reported.

“Whilst these mouthwashes very effectively eradicate the virus in the laboratory, we need to see if they work in patients and this is the point of our ongoing clinical study,” Cardiff University professor David Thomas told the network. He also added that the clinical study will also show how long the effects would last after patients receive a single administration of the mouthwash.

In July, a German study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases discovered that after applying other mouthwash products including Listerine to the virus for 30 seconds, viral infectivity was “significantly reduced to undetectable levels”.

Similar findings from scientists at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine also noted that Listerine as well as other mouthwashes could kill more than 99.9 percent of a virus similar to COVID-19 after 30 seconds of exposure.

However, Johns Hopkins Medicine ENT surgeon Nicholas Brown told the Washington Post last month that research on mouthwash should not be taken as “an instant solution and it’s something that we need to do our due diligence on.”

The promising report comes as US biotech firm Moderna said on Monday that its coronavirus vaccine candidate was 94.5 percent effective, one week after Pfizer announced a more than 90 percent efficacy rate of its vaccine.