While it sounds protective, these membranes are made up of fatty lipid molecules that are easy to disrupt. The easiest viruses to disinfect are the ones with a viral envelope, or membrane, that wraps around the virus. The policy is based on a classification model of viruses, since different types of viruses are generally harder to kill than others. “The goal of the policy is to allow for rapid response in the event of an emerging viral pathogen outbreak,” the spokesperson added, noting that the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak is the first time the criteria have been met to trigger the policy. An EPA spokesperson told us in an email that this would not allow a company to put the claim on its label, but would allow companies to add it to technical literature sent to hospitals, as well as to websites, consumer information services and social media sites. For one, these products are considered to be effective against SARS - even if it’s not featured on the label - and the new virus is quite similar.Įven more important, the EPA has a guidance policy that allows companies to claim their products are effective against certain emerging viral pathogens, as long as they can show the products work on other, harder-to-kill viruses. While it’s impossible to know for sure, since none of the products have been tested against 2019-nCoV, the chances are high. In fact, it’s in an entirely different genus of coronaviruses.Īlthough the posts misinterpret the inclusion of “Human Coronavirus” on these labels, the idea that these products might be helpful against the new virus isn’t so off-base. The 229E strain is a common human coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explains, that usually causes “mild to moderate upper-respiratory tract illnesses, like the common cold.” It is not the same as the coronavirus responsible for the current outbreak that began in Wuhan. Documents submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency show that Clorox and Lysol sprays and wipes are able to list “Human Coronavirus” on their labels because those products were tested against human coronavirus 229E. In terms of the disinfectants, testing is required for manufacturers to make claims about their products. Scientists who have analyzed the viral sequences from infected patients in other countries, too, have found that the sequences are very similar to the first Chinese sequences, corroborating the idea that the virus only recently emerged, and is new to science. Researchers have preliminarily found that 2019-nCoV is about 80% similar to the severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, virus, and is 96% similar to a bat virus. 31, and within a week had ruled out other viruses, including other coronaviruses, and isolated the new virus. The Chinese government informed the World Health Organization about the outbreak on Dec. But that’s not because either company had any previous knowledge of the virus.Īs we have written before, the outbreak began in Wuhan, a city in central China, with the first known cases identified in early December, many of them linked to a seafood market selling a wide selection of game meats and wild animals. It turns out that it’s likely these products would be effective against the new virus, which is known as 2019 novel coronavirus, or 2019-nCoV. The name derives from the crown-like look of the viruses under a microscope. The word “coronavirus” is not specific, and can apply to any virus in the coronavirus family. These posts are among several instances in which the generic use of the term “coronavirus” has led to confusion, with people on social media erroneously conflating mentions of already known coronavirus strains with the new one. Other posts make similar claims about Clorox products, with one using the hashtag, #SoStrongItCanKillVirusesOfTheFuture. “So Lysol knew about this new strand of Coronavirus?” asks one Facebook post, which is accompanied by a photo with an arrow pointing to “Human Coronavirus” listed on a bottle of disinfectant spray.Īnother Facebook post highlights the words “Human Coronavirus” on a container of Lysol disinfecting wipes, and says, “the label of the popular Lysol already show that the product Kill the Coronavirus, so that means that this Virus is nothing new.” In the wake of the expanding outbreak of a new coronavirus from China, people on social media are pointing to disinfecting product labels to falsely suggest that the new virus is not new. There are many human coronaviruses, and these products were tested against a strain that causes the common cold. Numerous social media posts falsely suggest that because Clorox and Lysol products list “Human Coronavirus” on their bottles, the new coronavirus driving the outbreak in China was already known.
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