Substance in vapes could hold the key to combatting the next pandemic

By Mark Waghorn via SWNS

Vaping could hold the key to combating the next pandemic, according to new research from Japan.

Inhaling ethanol can destroy viruses - usually without causing serious side effects.

The clear colorless liquid is found in e-cigarettes and experiments on mice found low amounts kill the flu virus.

Co-author Dr. Miho Tamai, of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Japan, said: "Ethanol is an effective disinfectant for body surfaces.

"So we wanted to know whether ethanol could also be effective inside the body."

E-cig formulations contain the organic compound, sometimes in concentrations greater than a fifth.

Flu viruses accumulate in a thin fluid layer covering lung cells that protect the surface of the airway.

The vapor must increase ethanol concentrations in the fluid to 20 percent to successfully treat the infection, the team found.

This quantity was not toxic to lung cells created in the lab to mimic human cells.

At body temperature, it inactivated the flu in just a minute and stopped the virus from replicating inside cells.

The concentration of ethanol provided is important. If the concentration does not reach the right level, it will not be useful.

Flu bugs also have an outer membrane, or shell called an envelope.

Project leader Professor Tsumoru Ishikawa said: "Ethanol vapor may also inactivate other enveloped viruses such as COVID-19."

So far, all viruses that have caused pandemics have been enveloped.

Explained Prof Ishikawa: "Once the next pandemic happens, maybe we can quickly apply the ethanol vapor inhalation therapy to prevent or cure the disease."

The technique's effectiveness does not depend on the variant of the virus. If designed carefully, ethanol inhalation could possibly stop a pandemic in the future.

The researchers are now working to optimize the therapy and investigate its effects on other respiratory infectious diseases such as bird flu and COVID-19.

They believe it has great potential as a versatile and cost-effective new treatment for a range of infectious diseases.

But Prof Ishikawa cautioned that people should not try using ethanol as a therapy on their own.

He added: "That may lead to serious side effects or explosion risks. The efficacy and safety of this new treatment on humans and other mammals should be carefully evaluated in the future."

The study is in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.