Kill the novel coronavirus

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As the Gengzi Spring Festival approaches, the novel coronavirus poses a threat; yet people are busy making preparations, eager to return home to celebrate the festival and visit family and friends. The novel coronavirus arrived quietly, and the grip of pneumonia cast a shadow over the joyful and festive atmosphere. The memories of SARS in 2003 are still fresh. In the warm and blooming months of March and April, the SARS epidemic swept across China. Main roads were dug up to cut off traffic, roadblocks were set up in every village, disinfectant was sprayed everywhere, and everyone lived in fear. Schools are on holiday, businesses have stopped operating, and exams have been postponed; everyone is in a state of high alert. Masks are effective, and their prices have soared. Isatis root is effective; it once became extremely popular. I heard that white vinegar can work, and as a result its price soared to exorbitant levels. Looking back on that year, I still feel shaken. The Wuhan COVID-19 Prevention and Control Command issued a statement in the early hours of January 23 stating that, in order to fully address the challenges posed by COVID-19, effectively cut off the pathways of virus transmission, stop the spread of the disease, and ensure the safety and health of the public, urban buses, subways, ferries, and long-distance passenger services across Wuhan will be suspended from 10 a.m. on January 23 ； Without any special reason, citizens should not leave Wuhan ； The routes from the airport and train stations to Han are temporarily closed. The recovery time will be announced later. Mobilize all available efforts to contain and eliminate the novel coronavirus. Highly effective disinfectants can kill all forms of bacterial reproduction (including mycobacteria), viruses, fungi and their spores, and they also have a certain killing effect on bacterial spores, meeting the requirements for high-level disinfection. These include chlorine-based disinfectants, ozone, methylurea compounds, and bisquaternary ammonium salts. Intermediate-level disinfectants can only kill microorganisms such as mycobacteria, fungi, viruses, and bacterial progeny in order to meet disinfection requirements; these include iodine-based disinfectants and phenol-based disinfectants. Ineffective disinfectants can only kill bacterial vegetative forms and lipophilic viruses; those that meet the requirements for being effective disinfectants include quaternary ammonium salt disinfectants such as benzalkonium bromide, biguanide disinfectants such as chlorhexidine (hydroxyethyl starch iodide), metal ion disinfectants such as mercury, silver, and copper, as well as disinfectants made from traditional Chinese herbs. Definition of disinfectants: Disinfectants are substances used to kill pathogenic microorganisms on surfaces, thereby rendering them harmless. Different from antibiotics, their main role in preventing diseases is to eliminate these pathogenic microorganisms outside the human body, thereby breaking the transmission pathway of infectious diseases and achieving control over such diseases. Disinfectants are also often referred to as “chemical disinfectants”. Any disinfectant that can dissolve in water to produce sodium hypochlorite is referred to as a chlorine-based disinfectant. It is an ancient type of disinfectant, and it remains an excellent disinfectant to this day. The so-called effective chlorine does not refer to the amount of chlorine present, but rather to the chlorinating capacity of the disinfectant, that is, its equivalent chlorinating power. This disinfectant is divided into organic chlorines, primarily based on chloramines, and inorganic chlorines, primarily based on sodium hypochlorite. The former has a slow bactericidal effect but stable performance, while the latter has a rapid bactericidal effect but unstable performance. The common chlorine-containing disinfectants are as follows. Liquid chlorine has a chlorine content of over 99.5% (V/V). Chlorine bleach contains 25% active chlorine (W/W). Chlorine bleach concentrate contains 80% active chlorine (W/W). Sodium hypochlorite contains 10% active chlorine (W/W). Sodium dichloroisocyanurate contains 60% (W/W) effective chlorine. Trichloroisocyanuric acid contains 85-90% (W/W) effective chlorine. There are three mechanisms by which chlorinated disinfectants kill microorganisms. 1. Hypochlorous acid is a very small neutral molecule; it can diffuse to the negatively charged surface of bacterial cells and penetrate through the cell wall into the interior of the cells, where it causes chlorination. This destroys the bacteria’s phosphodehydrogenase enzyme, leading to an imbalance in sugar metabolism and ultimately the death of the bacteria. II. Hypochlorous acid decomposes to form atomic oxygen, which oxidizes the proteins in the bacterial cells. III. Chlorine interferes with cellular metabolism by binding to membrane proteins to form chlorinated compounds, ultimately leading to cell death. Main advantages of chlorine-based disinfectants: broad spectrum of bactericidal activity, rapid action, and reliable bactericidal effect ； Low toxicity ； Easy to use and inexpensive ； It is generally capable of killing bacteria, viruses, fungal spores, and bacterial spores. Main drawback: Unstable, with easy loss of available chlorine ； It has a bleaching effect on fabrics ； Corrosive ； It is susceptible to the influence of organic substances, pH, etc. Trichloroisocyanuric acid is stable for storage, easy to use, has a high content of effective chlorine, and excellent bactericidal properties; it represents a new generation of broad-spectrum, highly effective, and low-toxicity bactericides, bleaching agents, and shrinkage inhibitors. It is mainly used for disinfection and sterilization in drinking water, swimming pools, restaurants, hotels, public places, industrial circulating water, as well as in homes, hospitals, for egg processing, and to prevent fish diseases. It has a killing effect on almost all fungi, bacteria, and viral spores; it is particularly effective in eliminating hepatitis A and hepatitis B viruses, and it also exhibits good disinfecting effects against sexually transmitted viruses and HIV. Usage methods of trichloroisocyanuric acid. 1. Daily use for disinfecting tableware: Add 0.25 grams per 5 kilograms of water, and soak the washed tableware for 5 minutes. There is no environmental pollution issue, and it is harmless to humans and animals. 2. Used for disinfecting hospital wastewater, diapers, and medical equipment: Compared with commonly used disinfectants such as chlorhexidine, carbolic acid, cetrimide, and chloramine T, the amount of trichloroisocyanuric acid required for disinfecting the same substances is only 1/10 to 1/100 of that needed for these conventional disinfectants; moreover, it has a fast killing speed and effective disinfection results. 3. Disinfectant and deodorizer for household and public area waste: trichloroisocyanuric acid 25%–65%, cleaning powder 25%–65%, p-xylene 10%–15%; suitable for disinfecting and deodorizing garbage as well as water in sewers and ditches. 4. Pool disinfection: 3–5 grams per cubic meter per day should be added to the pool. 5. Treatment of sewage and feces: Add 5–10 grams of medication per cubic meter of sewage or feces to eliminate odors and kill bacteria and viruses. 6. Sterilization and disinfection in aquaculture. 7. Seed sterilization and disinfection: Using trichloroisocyanuric acid as a seed disinfectant can break the seed dormancy, increase the seed germination rate, and suppress the occurrence of diseases; the seeds should be soaked in a 0.2% trichloroisocyanuric acid solution for 12 hours. 8. Treatment of industrial circulating cooling water: Add 0.5 grams per 1 m3 of water. The free chlorine concentration in the cooling water should generally be maintained between 0.25–0.5 ppm, with a pH level of 7–8 being appropriate. Trichloroisocyanuric acid is a highly effective disinfectant and sterilant. Stop slandering hospitals, stop misunderstanding the chemical industry; every hospital and every company that produces disinfectants is a fortress. Viruses are ruthless, but humans are full of compassion; by working together with one heart and one mind, we are sure to be able to overcome the novel coronavirus.