Copper Metal Kills Viruses on Contact

new again.

Thousands of years ago, Egyptians used it to sterilizedrinking water. Ancient Romans, Aztecs and Greeksalso used it for medical treatments.

I am talking about copper.

The symbol for copper on the periodic chart forelements is Cu. If we are talking about germs that mightmean Cu later! (C + u = “See you”)

Copper kills many germs on contact. Now it is back inhospitals to do just that.

One of the major ways we get sick is we touchsurfaces out in the world, many made of metal orplastic. These surfaces are covered with germs.Germs live on poles on a train or bus. They are foundon doorknobs and handles.

This is especially true in hospitals.

Bill Keevil is a microbiologist at Southampton Universityin Britain. He is investigating the properties of copperthat kill germs -- or as researchers call them,pathogens.

Keevil points to studies that compare infection rates at U.S. hospitals that use copper surfaces and those thatdo not.

"They found that copper alloys gave a 58 percentreduction in infection rate. So that showed, you know, that in the real world of a hospital environment, copperalloys do a great job (in preventing infection)."

In a study published in the journal mBio, Keevil and histeam found that copper surfaces can quickly kill thecoronavirus 229E.

Passengers wearing masks as a precaution against the MERS virus make their way after they got off a train at a subway station in Seoul, South Korea, June 18, 2015.

You may not know coronavirus 229E by name.

But if you ever have had the common cold or the moreserious pneumonia, you have been in contact with it.

The coronavirus 229E is also closely related to thepathogen that causes SARS and MERS.

Keevil explains that copper ions -- electrically chargedmolecules -- kill dangerous viruses by destroying theirgenetic material. Copper ions do this by interacting withoxygen and changing the oxygen molecules. As aresult, the virus cells cannot mutate.

"Now these ions are able to punch holes in the cell'smembrane, enter the cell and destroy their nucleic acid.So they are completely killed. There's no chance ofmutation leading to resistance, and there's no comingback. So the chemistry is fantastic."

Keevil notes that ancient civilizations knew about thegerm-killing properties of copper. However, they maynot have understood the science behind it.

Researchers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health wrote on their websiteabout the oldest recorded medical use of copper.

Ancient Egyptians knew many things including the germ-killing power of copper. This is a Pharonic-era mural inside the tomb of a king in Luxor, Egypt, Nov. 2015. (H. Elrasam/VOA)

They say its use is noted in an Egyptian medical bookwritten about 4,000 years ago.

The book describes how they used copper to sterilizewounds and drinking water.

Keevil says earlier generations of builders in the UnitedStates also knew this about copper. That is why copperalloys such as brass were often used in buildingmaterials.

But more modern builders stopped using copper andcopper alloys. They cost more than other buildingmaterials.

However, Bill Keevil says copper could save hospitals money. He says theirother costs of fighting infection will drop, including drugs for treatment.

More importantly, less people will get sick.

I’m Anna Matteo.

Jessica Berman wrote this report for VOA News in Washington. Anna Matteoadapted it and added some additional reporting for Learning English. CatyWeaver was the editor.