Some mouthwashes can kill coronavirus in 30 seconds, a preliminary study has suggested.
The Cardiff University laboratory experiment found that mouthwash products containing at least 0.07% cetypyridinium chloride rapidly destroyed the virus.
The tests were undertaken in conditions mimicking a human nose and throat.
“Chlorhexidine or ethanol alone had little or no ability to inactivate [the] virus in this assay,” the researchers explained.
The study shows further experiments are “warranted” to determine whether mouthwash can “inactivate” the virus while it is still in the throat or nasal area, the scientists said.
Mouthwash was not shown to be a treatment for the virus (because it will not reach the lungs), only to be able to kill it in saliva.
The study is yet to be peer-reviewed.
Chief author Professor David Thomas, speaking to the PA news agency and reported in the South Wales Argus, said: “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.
“It is important to point out the study won’t give us any direct evidence on viral transmission between patients, that would require a different type of study on a much larger scale.
Read the full study here.
