According to the website of the National Health Service (NHS), the survival time of the virus after leaving the human body depends on the surface of the object it is attached to, as well as environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity. Generally speaking, viruses live longer on impermeable (waterproof) surfaces, such as stainless steel or plastic surfaces; The survival time of virus on permeable surfaces such as fiber fabrics or paper towels is relatively short. Different kinds of viruses have different survival times. Some viruses can survive on the surface of indoor objects for more than 7 days, but their pathogenicity will decrease obviously within 24 hours. Therefore, hard objects such as elevator buttons and door handles are virus carriers, so you need to be more careful.
In 20 14, scientists from Britain, France, the United States, China and other countries published papers in the American Journal of Infection Control, and studied the survival period of influenza A virus H 1N 1 on the surfaces of four common objects. The researchers sampled and analyzed the surfaces of wood, stainless steel, plastics and fabrics at home. The results show that the wooden surface is the best "hotbed" of this virus, and the virus can maintain its infection ability for 48 hours. The survival time of virus on stainless steel and plastic surfaces is generally about 24 hours; The virus attached to the fabric surface has the shortest survival time, and the virus activity will quickly drop to zero within 8 hours.
Another paper published in American Journal of Applied and Environmental Microbiology 20 16 studied in detail the survival of H 1N 1 influenza virus on stainless steel surface under different environmental conditions. Studies have shown that influenza virus can survive for up to 7 days on the surface of stainless steel, and it is still contagious. This study proves the "long standby time" of influenza virus on impermeable surface.
The NHS website also said that influenza virus can survive in the air for several hours in the form of droplets, and low temperature will increase its viability. However, the survival time of influenza virus in the hands is very short, and the number of viruses in the hands will drop to a very low level in about 5 minutes.
Researchers say it is very important to maintain good hand hygiene and regularly disinfect the surfaces of commonly used items to slow down the spread of the virus during the flu season and other epidemics. Studies have shown that using a certain concentration of bleach, vinegar, detergent or antibacterial rag to clean the surface of articles can effectively reduce the activity of influenza virus.