In Japan, scientists have developed a very special face mask. Indeed, it glows under UV light after contact with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. According to the researchers, this device could allow users to quickly find out if they have been infected with the virus. This mask may even become the new Covid-19 screening kit.
Are we witnessing a small revolution regarding Covid-19? Maybe. As the epidemic is currently picking up again in several countries around the world, scientists from Kyoto Prefectural University (Japan) recently presented a new face mask. Unlike conventional surgical masks, it glows under UV light to places that have been in contact with the coronavirus. According to an article by the Japanese press agency Kyodo News published on December 8, 2021, the secret of this innovation is surprising. Indeed, it is about ostrich eggs, a bird that according to researchers is able to produce different antibodies in order to fight against the coronavirus.
In reality, the scientists used a conventional surgical mask on which they applied a special filter sprayed with a fluorescent dye. However, this same dye contains antibodies extracted from ostrich eggs. Thus, once under the UV light, the areas of the mask contaminated with the coronavirus light up.
For project managers, this new type of mask could avoid complying with the usual PCR tests. It must be said that these are painless for some people, but represent an ordeal for others. Moreover, these tests have been strongly criticized for a year about their effectiveness. Indeed, some positive people have very low viral loads . Thus, the shiny mask of the Japanese researchers could become in a few months the new screening kit for Covid-19.
Furthermore, its low-cost mass production that would facilitate large-scale distribution . It must be said that the effectiveness of the device is rather surprising, despite the small number of volunteers who participated in the first tests. Of the 32 infected participants by SARS-CoV-2, all saw their masks glow under the effect of UV light. Furthermore, the brightness intensity tended to decrease over the ten days of testing, in proportion to the decrease in viral load.
