Our immune system identifies Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) as a harmful one and in response to the manufacture of antibodies in our body, which helps us fight this deadly virus.

The research study was headed by Craig Meyers, a professor in the school's department of microbiology and immunology and department of obstetrics and gynecology.

A recent study from the Journal of Medical Virology said a few oral antiseptics - like baby shampoos or mouthwashes - that "may have the ability to inactivate human coronaviruses" when people are talking, sneezing or coughing.

Swishing with mouthwash can help freshen that mask breath, and, new research suggests, reduce the amount of coronavirus in the mouth and may help reduce the spread of the virus.

Meyers said the next step in this line of research is to evaluate products like mouthwashes in COVID-19 positive patients to see if they reduce the viral load. Although their test did not use the current SARS-CoV-2 strain, an experiment conducted with a genetically similar type of human coronavirus aimed "to replicate the interaction of the virus in the nasal and oral cavities with the rinses and mouthwashes".

Since the novel coronavirus is vulnerable to oxidation, the use of mouth rinses containing oxidative agents, for example, over-the-counter hydrogen peroxide, will be effective in reducing the salivary viral load.

The solutions interacted with the virus for 30 seconds, 1 minute, and 2 minutes, before diluting the solutions to prevent further inactivation.

"Could the Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 associate with neuropilin-1 to aid viral infection of human cells?".

To measure how much virus was inactivated, the researchers placed the diluted solutions in contact with cultured human cells.

"With contact times of 1 and 2minutes, the 1 percent baby shampoo solution was able to inactivate more than 99 percent and more than 99.9 percent or more of the virus, respectively", the researchers write in their paper.

Lisbon, Oct 24 (IANS) On average, men produce more Covid-19 antibodies than women, say Portuguese researchers, adding that, 90 per cent of the patients have detectable antibodies up to seven months post contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Listerine and similar products had an even faster rate, with 99.9 percent of inactivity occurring after 30 seconds.

"The results of this 6 months cross-sectional study show a classic pattern with a rapid increase of antibody levels within the first three weeks after COVID-19 symptoms and, as expected, a reduction to intermediate levels thereafter", explained Dr. Marc Veldhoen, corresponding author of the study, in a statement. In addition to evaluating the solutions at longer contact times, the researchers studied OTC products and nasal rinses that were not evaluated in the prior study. Researchers will now be looking to expand their study to clinical trials involving COVID-19-positive patients.

Chief dental officer of Jamaica Dr Irving McKenzie, who is also the former dean of the College of Oral Health Sciences and Veterinarian Studies, at the University of Technology, Jamaica, told the Jamaica Observer that "increasing the daily use of oral rinses and frequency of brushing is as important as face mask wearing and hand sanitising in this battle against COVID-19".