Mouthwash can kill Coronavirus in just 30 secs; is this a silver lining | Deets inside

In the backdrop of several kinds of research for treatment of coronavirus, now a 30 seconds mouthwash seems to come to have to the rescue. According to the latest scientific study, mouthwash can kill coronavirus within 30 seconds of being exposed to it in a lab. 

This study left many scratching their heads over how a simple iodine mouthwash capable of killing the deadly coronavirus? If the preliminary findings are anything to go by then mouthwashes containing 0.07 per cent of cetylpyridinium chloride showed "promising" signs of reducing Covid-19.

Scientists at Cardiff University mimicked the conditions of a human naso/oropharynx passage to test some of the most widely available iodine mouthwash brands such as Dentyl and Listerine and found out that coronavirus in the lab can be eliminated in 30 seconds.

Just an experiment, in the early stages

"Although this in-vitro study is very encouraging and is a positive step, more clinical research is now clearly needed. We need to understand if the effect of over-the-counter mouthwashes on the Covid-19 virus achieved in the laboratory can be reproduced in patients, and we look forward to completing our clinical trial in early 2021," said Professor David Thomas, who is leading the clinical trial.

What about human trails? 

After the news of the research broke out some healthcare professionals and those from the pharmaceutical sector expressed their scepticism about why the lab experiment would never really become a practical remedy.

To begin with, the research did not involve human trials. Moreover, the findings are yet to be peer-reviewed.

Some hope, but good news to be awaited

But the results of the findings will be followed by a 12-week clinical trial at the University Hospital of Wales that will investigate whether the levels of COVID-19 in a patient's saliva be by reduced over-the-counter mouthwashes.

While the results will be published in 2021, Dr Thomas further added, clearly being aware of the limitations of the findings. "It is important to point out that 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. The ongoing clinical study will, however, show us how long any effects last, following a single administration of the mouthwash in patients with Covid-19."

The report titled The Virucidal Efficacy of Oral Rinse Components Aginst SARS-CoV-2 In Vitro also happens to support a separate study that found out that CPC based mouthwashes' efficacy in reducing Covid's viral load. Well, while we don't know as yet whether mouthwash will make it to Corona patients prescription slips but it'll increasingly make it to people's oral hygiene routine.

'Corona says clean up, dude': Netizens react to the study 

While the study may or may not become conclusive, there's no stopping the social media memes from coming in. One user said, "Corona says clean up dude," kept the spirit and the hope alive. First the handwash and now the mouthwash, Corona really wants us to come clean.