Thread by @MiningNS

In 1852, physician Victor Burq visited a copper smelter in Paris, where they used heat and chemicals to extract the reddish-brown metal. It was a dirty and dangerous job.

Read this thread to learn how #copper helps fight #covid19.

#nspoli #cbpoli #Novascotia #covid19ns

Yet, the 200 employees who worked there had all been spared from cholera outbreaks that hit the city in 1832, 1849, and 1852.
#nspoli #cbpoli #Novascotia #covid19ns

When Burq learned that 400-500 #copper workers on the same street had also mysteriously dodged cholera, he concluded that something about their professions—and copper—had made them immune to the highly infectious disease.
#nspoli #cbpoli #Novascotia #covid19ns

Today we know that copper is antimicrobial - it kills bacteria and viruses, sometimes within minutes.

Copper has been shown to kill a long list of microbes, including norovirus, E. Coli and coronaviruses—including the novel strain currently causing the COVID-19 pandemic.
#nspoli

When a microbe lands on a copper surface, the copper releases ions, which are electrically charged particles. Those #copper ions blast through the microbe's outer membranes and destroy its whole cell, including the DNA or RNA inside.
#nspoli #cbpoli #Novascotia #covid19ns

Because their DNA and RNA are destroyed, it also means a bacteria or virus can’t mutate and become resistant to the #copper, or pass on genes (like for antibiotic resistance) to other microbes.
#nspoli #cbpoli #Novascotia #covid19ns

Using #copper along with standard hygiene protocols has been shown to reduce bacteria in hospitals by 90%.
Read the full story at vice.com/en_ca/article/…

#nspoli #cbpoli #Novascotia #covid19ns