Breakthrough pairs up Soapy’s handwashing microstation with an Israeli plant-based reagent, that together can kill a virus more resistant than corona.
By Abigail Klein Leichman MARCH 8, 2020, 2:10 PM
Soapy’s hygiene microstation now includes a soap with a special ingredient that kills viruses. Photo: courtesy
Health experts say that handwashing is the best protection against coronavirus, which has infected 107,490 people since the end of December. However, regular soap and water can’t remove every single microbe.
Now, two Israeli companies have joined forces to make your handwashing 100 percent effective in killing viruses — without harsh substances like bleach.
It starts with the Soapy hygiene microstation, already in use in several countries.
Soapy provides an optimal amount of water (taken from the atmosphere) and soap per 20-second handwashing. A computer vision interface verifies that the handwashing was done properly.
On request, the soap will now include a plant-derived substance proven to kill tobamovirus – which is more resistant than coronavirus.
“Our team was looking to develop the best sequence to disinfect viral residues on hands,” Soapy CEO Max Simonovsky tells ISRAEL21c.
An only-in-Israel story brought Soapy together with plant virology research scientist Aviv Dombrovsky from the Volcani Center Agricultural Research Organization in Rishon LeZion.
Several months ago, Dombrovsky started chatting with another dad when picking up his child from preschool. That dad works at Soapy and told Dombrovsky what they wanted to do.
“Another Israeli company produces a plant-based product I use for soil disinfection,” Dombrovsky tells ISRAEL21c. “I simply put the two companies together.”
In December – before coronavirus hit China — the biodegradable product was tested in Soapy’s soap formulation to see if it could kill tobamovirus on hands. The highly resistant tobamovirus survives high temperatures and remains on surfaces for more than a year. It is transmitted through contact, like coronavirus.
“Because it is so strong, we use tobamovirus as a model to test antivirals. If something can inactivate tobamovirus, it can inactivate a range of human viruses including coronavirus,” says Dombrovsky, who oversaw the testing.
The recently released results show the combination of the special reagent and Soapy’s machine to be 100% effective in 72 samples.
“You can now use our technology to control the environment of hand hygiene,” says Simonovsky.
“You’ll have the recommended 20 seconds of handwashing and also the right amount of the right reagent, the right amount of water at the right temperature, and feedback at point of use that everything was done properly.”
The machine and soap can be ordered from the Soapy website at a special discount that Simonovsky put in place due to the current crisis. It ships worldwide and is kept supplied via a monthly subscription package.
@ Sebastien Zorn:
Yes, I forgot about Flash Gordon-t this point, although I re-read 2 F G books just a few months ago. I use the Roy Glashan Library …great selections. I just go through everything frm “A to “Z”, Then back to Gutenberg Australia etc. And in the many piles of Science Fiction Mags, been reading since about 7-8 years old, the alien races were either mechanical humanoids carrying brain pods, slabs of jelly floating in nutrition filled vats, or evil oriental looking races with no other vestiges of humanity.
@ Edgar G.:
I know. In fact, I was just watching the episode, “mirror, mirror” from the classic Star Trek series from the 60s, in which they encounter a parallel universe where the federation is evil and spock has a beard and I was remarking that Nimoy had made his character the spitting image of Ming the Merciless from the original Flash Gordon from the 30s which was on tv, all the time, when I was a boy.
Monty Python: “International Chinese Communist Conspiracy.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEy5vIWCJLQ
And Monty Python had a couple of funny parodies of anti-Chinese paranoia but I have never encountered it in real life before, myself.
@ Reader:
Why not cold or icy?
@ Zachary:
The virus also stays for hours on various surfaces and can be picked up by one’s hands, etc.It is also important to keep drinking water – not cold or icy.
@ Sebastien Zorn:
I heard on Friday that anti-Asian racism (the outward manifestations of it) in the US is increasing. Mob mentality.
Imagine a similar situation with you-know-who. At least, there are almost 1.5 billion Chinese so they don’t have to feel too affected by this idiocy.
This kind of stuff scares me because I perceive it as a rehearsal that is done by the government and a taking of the temperature of the public attitudes to an artificially created crisis.
@ Laura:
@ Laura:
How come you didn’t mention nuking Africa? Not politically correct?
Africans eat wild animals and other wildlife (that’s why they have those horrible illnesses there) and also ship them for consumption to their Diaspora.
Personally, I like the Chinese and respect them.
The problem with the East is that they eat wild animals and deliver them live to the cities live to ensure freshness, bacteria (SARS) and all for consumption. Africa, too, HIV, Margrave, Ebola. Arabs are no better as they eat camels which carry MERS. The problem is not restricting one’s self to kosher animals.
@ Sebastien Zorn:
There were thousands, likely hundreds of thousands, some serious, and loads of novels, in which the “Yellow Peril” was prominently featured. It was real, and still exists..I must have 20-25 of those books.
Just one example is the series of Dr. Fu Manchu, by Sax Rohmer, and his opponent Nayland Smith. He must have written 100-or more, all bout the Evil menace of Chinese taking over the world. Andy those books were all very popular. I have some, and have read many others. And there were many other writers who produced similar books.
It wasn’t just China, but also the East….for instance the Japanese entry into the War was one instance of “The Yellow Peril”. and was spoken about at that time..
I think it’s been around since about the time of Gengis Kohen…….
@ Laura:
Amazing. I’ve never actually encountered an anti-Asian racist before except in old episodes of the tv show, “Kung Fu” from the early 70s which was about a Chinese monk in the old West. . Are there others like you?
“Kung Fu: Caine vs Jerk”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7YDcLP2DeY
Washing hands is important, but unfortunately, from what I’ve heard, Coronavirus spreads mostly through the air and the virus travels from lungs to lungs, bypassing hands.