Is air purification effective against the RS-virus?

What is the RS virus and how does it spread?

The RS virus is a respiratory infection caused by the respiratory syncytial virus. Every winter there is a peak in the number of infections with the RS virus. Symptoms of the RS virus are nasal colds, coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath.

In the Netherlands, approximately 2000 children end up in hospital every year because of an infection with the RS virus. 150 to 200 of them have to go to the intensive care to be put on life support. For elderly people with poor health, the RS virus can lead to pneumonia.

Just like the coronavirus, the RS virus spreads through the air. The virus can float in the air for a long time and be inhaled. When inhaling these harmful aerosols, someone can become infected.

Does an air purifier work against the RS virus?

The RS virus has a particle size of 0.12-0.3 µm. This makes the virus particles larger than those of the coronavirus, of which the particle size varies between 0.10-0.12 µm.

Professional air purifiers with a HEPA H13 or HEPA H14 filter ensure that all virus particles with a particle size of 0.10 µm that pass through the system are captured, so that they cannot cause contamination afterwards. In addition, irradiation with UV-C light also works to render the virus particles harmless, if the irradiation time is long enough.

Our AirExchange® systems are equipped with a combination of a HEPA filter and UV-C light treatment, with which we can easily eliminate the RS virus.

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