Here we present our response to the comments by Dr. Panigrahi DPK [1] on our article [2] “Possibility of using ultraviolet radiation for disinfecting the COVID-19″. With great interest, all authors of our article have gone through the comment and appreciate the important concern of Dr. Panigrahi DPK. We agree and are aware of the fact that improper and direct exposure of humans to ultraviolet rays may lead to unwanted complications such as foreign body sensation, blurred vision, redness and watering from eyes etc. However, we have proposed that by shining the high intensity UV light on PPE kits, cloths, powered off electronic devices such as mobile phone, electronic watches, electronic keys, plastic materials (nonliving things) can be beneficial in disinfecting these items from the novel corona virus and have not proposed this for living things. Also, it has been clearly mentioned in the article [2] that UV light exposure can be effective against different strains of airborne viruses . In our article we have proposed a model based on the investigations of disinfecting the RNA bases of different viruses [1], [2], [3], [4]. At present, there are many reports in which similar results have been published for the disinfection of COVID-19 virus [3], [4], [5]. Finally, we appreciate Dr. Panigrahi DPK for this concern and it would be interesting to summarize that each UV light-based inactivation strategy has its pros and cons which should be carefully considered in designing any new microbial control strategy. One needs to always keep living beings safely away from the enclosed UV exposure chamber, ideally through remote operation of such systems.
Declaration of Competing Interest
There are no conflicts of interest with state or any party.
References
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