Cold plasma shown to fight norovirus
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.028607
BBC : Human norovirus is the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis, which is characterized by severe nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. The virus spreads particularly well in crowded areas, such as cruise ships, and has been difficult to study because it is almost impossible to grow in a laboratory. Now Birte Ahlfeld and Günter Klein of the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hannover, Germany, and their colleagues propose fighting the virus using nonthermal atmospheric pressure plasma, or cold plasma. The room-temperature, ionized gas molecules, created by applying an electric field to ambient air, were shown to be successful at inactivating the virus. Cold plasmas also are being developed for other medical applications, including the treatment of dental caries.
