Can mouthwash kill coronavirus? – Medical Information Bulletin

Could mouthwash be used routinely as a preventative measure against coronavirus transmission?

Researchers around the world are eagerly searching for possible treatments and vaccines for the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. As the search continues, medical staff will look for ways to reduce the potential for the virus to spread. The coronavirus is typically spread through droplets exhaled by infected people, and the viral load can be high in the nose and nasal cavity.

The coronavirus is surrounded by a protective cover that can be destroyed by antiseptics such as alcohol. This gives health professionals and the public an effective tool for hand sanitizing to prevent the spread of viruses. Scientists suggested that similar cleaning of the nose and mouth could lower levels of the coronavirus and the risk of the virus spreading. This would be particularly useful for medical professions in the dental field.

To test this theory, German researchers at Ruhr University Bochum examined eight different types of mouthwash to see if they could kill the coronavirus. Their results were published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

The researchers rated eight commercially available types of mouthwash against three different strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The researchers infected African green monkey cells with the coronavirus, as these cells are particularly susceptible to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. From this, scientists were able to determine the viral load, that is, the concentration of the virus in a certain volume of blood. To mimic actual conditions, an interfering substance was added to mimic the respiratory secretions. Each mouthwash was shaken with each strain of virus for 30 seconds to mimic the gargle.

Mouthwash reduces the viral load

All eight mouthwashes reduced the coronavirus viral load, but three performed significantly better than the others.

The active ingredients in the three mouthwashes that performed best were: dequalinium chloride and benzalkonium chloride; Polyvidone iodine; and ethanol and essential oils. The study results suggest that mouthwash can reduce the viral load of the coronavirus. However, mouthwash cannot be used to treat the coronavirus.

The author of the study, Toni Meister, stated in a press release: “Gargling with a mouthwash cannot inhibit the production of viruses in the cells, but it could reduce the viral load in the short term when the greatest potential for infection is present, namely in the oral cavity and throat – and this could be useful in certain situations, for example at the dentist or during medical care for Covid-19 patients. "

Written by Rebecca K. Blankenship, B.Sc.

Reference:

Toni Luise Meister, Yannick Brüggemann, Daniel Todt, Carina Conzelmann, Janis Müller, Rüdiger Groß, Jan Münch, Adalbert Krawczyk, Jörg Steinmann, Jochen Steinmann, Stephanie Pfaender, Eike Steinmann, Virucidal effectiveness of various mouthwashes against SARS-CoV-2, The Journal of Infectious Diseases, jiaa471, https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiaa471

Image by Annalize Batista from Pixabay