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OREM — A Utah company is on the front lines of fighting Ebola in Texas. According to SBioMed representatives, hospitals and hazmat teams are using the company's signature liquid spray to disinfect almost everything.
The spray is called Steriplex, and SBioMed claims it’s powerful enough to kill Ebola-like viruses but safe enough to use on the kitchen counter.
Active silver is the key ingredient in the “natural antimicrobial,” explained SBioMed representative Brent Taylor: “When we mix it with our proprietary blend, that’s what makes it so unique and powerful," he said.
When disinfecting, crews apply Steriplex with an electrostatic sprayer so it will stick to all surfaces. It's bleach-free and can be sprayed on TVs, curtains and hospital beds without affecting them.
“There’s a charge to it, so they can just spray it all the way around,” Taylor said.
Most recently, Texas hazmat crews have used Steriplex to clean schools that were closed after officials learned two students flew on the same flight as a Dallas nurse diagnosed with Ebola.
“They’re spraying it on the walls, the floors, the carpets, anything that has an environmental surface to it — which is pretty much everything,” Taylor said.
Once Steriplex is on a surface, it gets to work quickly.
“It kills C. (difficile) and MRSA in five minutes,” Taylor said. “Ebola falls under the norovirus (category), so it’s a non-enveloped virus; … it’s seven minutes, and then it kills them.”
Taylor said Steriplex was also used on the plane that carried the infected Ebola patient, as well as in patient homes and rooms inside Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.
Steriplex is currently used to disinfect more than 300 hospitals, Taylor said. There's also a Steriplex product that can kill deadly anthrax spores.
