To validate how the Xenex Germ-Zapping Robot™ can be used for the decontamination of facilities, vehicles and equipment affected by a natural or intentional outbreak, Xenex Disinfection Services recently tested its device against live Ebola virus and Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) spores in collaboration with the biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) containment laboratory at Texas Biomedical Research Institute.
The robot pulses intense UV light covering the entire UV spectrum, destroying viruses, bacteria and bacterial spores in a five-minute disinfection cycle without contact or chemicals.
The live agent study validated the efficacy of pulsed xenon UV light disinfection technology on two of the world’s deadliest pathogens.
In Texas Biomed’s BSL-4 lab, the Xenex robot destroyed both Ebola and anthrax spores on surfaces, achieving a greater than four-log reduction of Ebola in one minute and a greater than three-log reduction in anthrax spores in 15 minutes.
In none of the time/distance combinations was either anthrax or Ebola detected after the Xenex device was utilized.
“Xenex is an evidence-based company and this testing further validates that the Xenex Germ-Zapping Robot™ can be a critically important ally in the battle to stop the spread of high risk pathogens, especially as antibiotic resistance continues to mount,” said Dr. Mark Stibich, Chief Scientific Officer, Xenex.
More than 300 hospitals, Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, skilled nursing facilities, ambulatory surgery centers and long-term acute care facilities in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Africa use Xenex robots.
Source: Xenex press release, adapted.
