Children: viruses persist for 24 hours on toys

Children put everything in their mouths, especially toys, which are often lying around on the floor in the bedroom. Behavior that can be dangerous for them. A study published in the journal Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal shows that viruses can survive for several hours on toys, with a risk of contamination of the child. Researchers at Georgia State University have studied the persistence of so-called “enveloped” viruses. This is the case with the flu virus or the coronavirus, which can cause severe acute respiratory syndrome, a kind of pneumonia. They have the particularity of having an outer protective layer that helps them maintain themselves and infect other cells.

A virus resistant over time

For their work, Richard Bearden and his team used a bacteriophage virus, that is, a virus that infects bacteria. At 60% humidity, 1% of the virus is still present beyond 24 hours. In conditions closer to a house interior (22 ° C and 40% humidity), the risk persists with 0.01% of virus detectable after two hours. If these figures may seem low, the presence of the virus is however synonymous with possible contamination. “Children are more vulnerable: they put their hands and objects in their mouths, and their immune system is not fully developed,” explains Richard Bearden, the main author of this work.

Share space, not viruses

Faced with these results and the conclusions of previous studies on the contamination of toys in daycares and doctors’ offices, the authors of the study recommend several preventive measures. Shared games should therefore be regularly decontaminated with bleach and completely eliminated from waiting rooms in healthcare establishments. Richard Bearden even wants to extend this decontamination to door handles, elevator buttons and more generally to commonly shared surfaces. A great way to let the little ones explore the world safely while protecting everyone.