Covid-19: PHE upgrades PPE advice for all patient contacts with risk of infection

Dear Editor,
Should we not be giving some attention to pharyngeal perfusion with readily available anti-virals?

As noted by Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute's Dr Kylie Wagstaff:

"In times when we're having a global pandemic and there isn't an approved treatment, if we had a compound that was already available around the world then that might help people sooner; realistically it's going to be a while before a vaccine is broadly available. " AAP 4.4.20 It might be possible to respond to that inescapable fact as follows -

THE FERAL RESERVOIR and its susceptibility to available, human-safe disinfectants

A remarkable aspect of the current COVID-19 crisis is the apparent failure to directly respond to the reservoir of maximum virus density. As if the high command of an army at war gave no attention to where the enemy forces are actually multiplying.

The main reservoir of virus is in the mucous membranes of the noses, mouths, and throats of infected asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic people. [The lungs and other body organs, are the focus of hoped for high-tech anti-virals and vaccines, yet are only involved in the low percentage of seriously symptomatic people.]

The throat is by far the major ‘Petri dish’ of virus incubation - that’s where the human population’s virus reservoir flourishes; it’s from there that the vast majority of infecting particles and droplets are disseminated, to gain entrance to the eyes, noses, and throats of others.

Our governmental ‘army commanders’ could give at least some attention to where the virus is mainly aggregated and take steps to attack that reservoir right away. It is shedding from the general reservoir of throats that's mainly responsible for air-borne virus particles, and thus for most of the increases in infection rates, and for the exponential rises in COVID-19 cases.]

By extension, population-wide methods aimed at sanitising the mouth and throat are likely to have rapid and marked impact on the general dissemination of virus particles and thus on the growth curve of infections.

Those charged with advising and instructing the public could easily ensure the widest publication and facilitation of a reduction of viral load by encouraging as many people as possible to regularly medicate their mouths and throats.

Well-tested, inexpensive mouth/throat disinfectants are available off-the-shelf.
Preparations such as Betadine throat wash, Chlorhexidine preparations, Listerine, Strepsils, Cepacol, etc. have been well researched and found to have anti-viral as well as anti-bacterial activity. That includes activity against enveloped RNA viruses of the same taxon as SARS CoV-2.

Even better, in the interim while we wait for a vaccine, the government could formulate the readily available, low cost, anti-viral actives and make them widely available.

SOME BASIC SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
Providone Iodine (Betadine) is used all the time to prevent viruses, fungi, and bacteria from infecting human surgical wounds. Its clinical efficacy is beyond doubt. See for example references in: Trott, A. T. (2012) ‘Wounds and Lacerations’.
It’d be impossible to dismiss the plethora of research data on the clinically much employed ‘Chlorhexidene Gluconate’. Even ‘Listerine’ has some good clinical work done on its anti-viral efficacy.
As regards ‘Strepsils’, etc., I’ve seen good research and reviews on the clinical efficacy of its actives. The appended 2 links (quickly grabbed off Wikipedia) powerfully support the suggestion - that has not been addressed thus far - that it is eminently likely that those who medicate their throats will obtain protective benefits.
Doctors and Nurses, Teachers, Police, check-out clerks, etc should not be denied this additional level of defence, simply because these low-cost anti-viral throat medicaments are ‘off-the-shelf’ and do not require a doctor’s script.

And, as a logical extension, where a high percentage of people are regularly throat medicating, the community will certainly have less exposure to the virus. Surely this needs more urgent attention.

The other claim also follows: that those who are already infected will expel less active virus if they are throat medicated. Surely we want to use every possible method to protect our brave medics, when ministering to the infected.

Throat lozenge https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/09563202050160020 5 · PDF file A throat lozenge containing amyl meta cresol and chlorobenzyl alcohol has a direct virucidal effect on respiratory syncytial virus, influenza A and SARS-CoV

The same paper but with cross reference
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7850855_A_Throat_Lozenge…A potent virucidal mixture containing amyl metacresol and dichlorobenzyl alcohol at low pH inactivated enveloped respiratory viruses influenza A, respiratory synctial virus (RSV) and severe…

It is not being claimed that low-tech antiviral throat medication can cure COVID-19; [though this urgently deserves testing to see to what extent symptoms can be ameliorated.]

Rather, it is claimed that:

1. a high population use of antiviral throat medication is able to add to the existing protective mechanisms of social distancing, hand cleanliness, isolation, PPE, etc.; and, thus assist in continuing to flatten the curve of infected population numbers;

2. that infected people will emit less active virus if their mouths and throats are perfused with well-tested, low-tech antiviral medications; and, so assist in protecting those who have to work with them, and who are especially at risk from infection.

No informed scientist would challenge those two propositions.
The advantages for individuals, especially doctors and nurses, and for all humanity do not need emphasising.

This is not to disparage the wonderful on-going work of those researching day and night to develop high-tech, systemic, molecular biology anti-virals and vaccines for the future.

Low-tech anti-virals may help us in the interim; in addition to social separation, hand cleanliness, isolation, PPE, etc.