Mouthwash disaggregation of SARS-CoV-2 virus-like particles

[Tom.G]

Disclaimer: This post is a 'Just-In-Case'; it is way out of my field and was not particularly impressed with the popular version.
Others can better evaluate the research article.

Mouth wash containing Cetylpyridinium chloride (a surfactant) does the job. Speculation is it may be a help in reducing transmission by reducing the oral viral load.

Popular article:
https://dominicantoday.com/dr/world/2022/02/01/sars-cov-2-membrane-bursts-with-some-mouthwashes/

Published research article in: Journal of Oral Microbiology Volume 14, 2022 - Issue 1
https://doi.org/10.1080/20002297.2022.2030094

 

[Ygggdrasil]

My major concern with the study is that it does not actually test the effectiveness of cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) on SARS-CoV-2 virus. They use combine SARS-CoV-2 Virus Like-Particles (VLPs) (not the acutal virus, but something made in the lab to resemble virus) with CPC in a test tube, and look at how different concentrations of CPC affect integrity of the virus. It's not surprising that high concentrations of CPC, a surfactant, can disrupt the lipid membranes of the VLPs, though it's worth noting that at the concentrations typically found in mouthwash 0.05%, the amount of intact VLPs were reduced, but not completely eliminated.

I also have many concerns about how this research would translate in practice to affect SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Mouthwash would likely kill a significant fraction of virus in an individual's mouth, but it's not clear how long that decrease in virus would last to appreciably affect transmission. Because the virus replicates in the upper respiratory tract (and hopefully you're not inhaling the mouthwash), it's likely that right after killing the viruses in the mouth, the mouth will be repopulated by viruses from the URT fairly quickly.