"Researchers have developed an ultraviolet UV lamp that kills the influenza virus but isnt harmful to human skin or eyes according to a new study in Scientific Reports httptime.comuvlightkillsfluvirusdx.doi.org.sw. They hope the technology can be commercialized and marketed to prevent the spread of seasonal flu in public places such as schools hospitals and airports. Weve known for a century that UV light is extremely efficient at killing microbes bacteria and viruses says study leader David Brenner director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. For that reason UV devices are often used for sterilization  for medical equipment in hospitals for example or drinking water for backcountry campers. But conventional germicidal lamps arent safe for humans to be around. With prolonged exposure they can cause skin cancer and cataracts in the eyes. So up until now theyre only really practical when people arent around say Brenner. You can sterilize a hospital room but not when anyones inside. About five years ago Brenner says the Columbia team came up with a potential solution. Light on the far end of the UVC spectrum known as farUVC has very short wavelengths. The researchers suspected that it can penetrate and destroy microscopic bacteria and viruses but cant travel through the protective outer layers of human skin or eyes. We wanted to get all the benefits of UV light in terms of killing microbes but none of the health hazards says Brenner. Earlier studies on animals and humans have shown that exposure to farUVC light does indeed appear to be safe. We havent seen any biological damage to skin cells or eye cells whereas with conventional UV light weve always seen lots of biological damage he says. Previous research has also shown that farUVC light can kill MRSA bacteria a common cause of infections after surgery. Now Brenner and his colleagues have show that UVC light can effectively kill airborne influenza. In their new study aerosolized particles of the HN seasonal flu virus were released into a test chamber and exposed to very low doses of farUVC light. The light inactivated the viruses with about the same efficiency as conventional germicidal UV light while a control group of bacteria not exposed to light remained active. We think that this type of overhead light could be efficacious for basically any public setting says Brenner. Think about doctors waiting rooms schools airports and airplanesany place where theres a likelihood for airborne viruses. And unlike the flu vaccine he says farUVC light is likely to be effective against all airborne microbes including newly emerging virus strains.  Brenner says his team is working with a company to develop a commercially available version of the lamp which could become a costeffective way to battle flu epidemics on a population level. The lamp were using at the moment costs less than  and you can imagine that if it were put into general circulation the price would drop dramatically he says. We dont see cost as being a limiting factor here. UVC lamps could also have potential implications in clinical settings as well  in the operating room during surgeries for example. No matter how well you sterilize a room beforehand the medical staff can still bring in dangerous bacteria like MRSA says Brenner. If you have a lamp over the surgical site that can sterilize the air you can prevent the bacteria from floating down and contaminating the wound. Brenner cant predict how long it might take for these lamps to be commercially available but he says hes extremely optimistic about the technology. There has been no way of killing viruses in the air in public spaces and this is an approach that may solve that problem."