> These are not trivial distinctions, because the
> persistence in the environment or the mode
> of inactivation, these are directly related to
> the structure and type of virus you are dealing with.
The term "trivial distinctions" is apt, the distinctions are extremely
trivial to the question at issue of the "lifespan" of a virus on a surface
(like comb, woodenware, a hive tool, or the bed of a 1951 Ford F1 pickup
truck).
Inactivation is going to depend on breaking down either lipids, proteins, or
both.
Viruses certainly vary in shape, structure, and size, but they are
invariably constructed from the same set of basic components:
1) A "genome", nucleic acids, DNA or RNA (never both) either single-stranded
or double-stranded
2) A "capsid", a coating of protein around the genome
3) An optional "envelope" around the capsid, lipids that came from the cell
membrane of the cell that the viron reproduced within,
3a) The envelope will always have some "glycoproteins", to allow a viron
with an envelope to attach to a host cell as well as a viron with no
envelope, proteins do the "docking" of the viron with the victim cell.
That's it - these 3 or 4 basic components in the parts bin is all that is
used in construction of a virus. (The only simpler nasty thing is a prion -
just a protein.)
For this very simple mechanism to "work", the capsid and envelope can't be
very strong or stable - if either one was, the genome can't be released into
the host cell
So, if one can apply enough heat or radiation to break down the lipids
and/or proteins, one can inactivate the virus at issue.
Soap and water work well, too, as soap breaks down the greasy lipid bits.
Soap actually works much better at this than alcohol-based "hand sanitizer",
but soap in one's combs in not a good idea.
And yes, it is "just that simple", as there aren't any "better" techniques
to inactivate the virus on a surface, like wax comb, as viruses are such
simple things.
Trying to make things seem less comprehensible/accessible with jargon and
claims lacking supporting examples is nothing but an attempt to start to
list details that are not needed in the real world where the virus has to
"die".
There certainly is a massive amount of complexity in trying to tease apart
any examine anything in biochemistry, but we are not slaving away in some
biochem lab, we are outside in the sunshine, and to kill a virus, we can
rely on simple kinetics, the only questions being (a) "how much?" and (b)
"for how long?"
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