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Effects of UV Lights on Sterlization of Animal Viruses

Pet ownership has gradually increased in the United States, with the Humane Society of the United States estimating there are 77.5 million dog owners and 93.6 million cat owners in the country. One of the concerns with this many domestic animals has been maintaining and sterilizing areas used by the animals to ensure animal viruses don´t spread. UV light has been proposed as a sterilization method to safely control and eliminate animal viruses and other pathogens.

  1. What is UV Light

    • Most people will recognize that ultraviolet (UV) light comes from the sun during the day and has shorter wavelengths that make it invisible to the naked eye. There are three regions of light that comprise UV rays: near ultraviolet, far ultraviolet and extreme ultraviolet. The near ultraviolet is the closest of the three to being visible, the extreme ultraviolet is closest to X-ray light and the far ultraviolet lies between the two, as explained by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). All three wavelengths form UV light and together are the most damaging to human tissue or cells, which is why UV light causes sunburns when prolonged exposure occurs.

    Effects of UV Light on Viruses

    • Using UV light to sterilize animal viruses has been proposed as a safe and effective way to clean work surfaces in veterinary settings and prevent the spread of virus-borne illnesses. Studies done using UV light to disinfect/kill animal viruses have shown the light can effectively kill or deactivate viruses, bacteria and microorganisms that are harmful to both animals and humans, according to the Science Learning Hub. The UV light penetrates the virus' membrane, eliminating the DNA, which the virus uses to reproduce itself. The virus then has no way of multiplying and eventually dies off. This makes UV light very effective in eliminating viruses at the source of their reproduction and is done so without synthetic chemicals.

    Risks Associated with UV Light

    • The degenerative effects of UV light on animal viruses and bacteria are also harmful when applied to human tissue. According to Science Learning Hub, high amounts of UV light exposure damages and suppresses the immune system of living creatures. If there are continuous high levels of exposure to UV light, the immune system will eventually fail. As a result, UV light should never be applied to an animal to clean it, and only to non-living objects like counter tops or surfaces as a sanitizer. UV light also weakens plastics and discolors/fades fabrics and furniture, so it should be used in moderation as a sanitizer.

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