Michael Winter ¹ , Dirk Boecker ² and Wilfried Posch ^3,*

1 Team Winter Kompetenztraining, 1030 Vienna, Austria; 该Email地址已收到反垃圾邮件插件保护。要显示它您需要在浏览器中启用JavaScript。

2 TOTO Consulting LLC, Campbell, CA 95080, USA; 该Email地址已收到反垃圾邮件插件保护。要显示它您需要在浏览器中启用JavaScript。

3 Institute of Hygiene and Medical Microbiology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Schöpfstrasse 41/R311,6020 Innsbruck, Austria

*Correspondence: 该Email地址已收到反垃圾邮件插件保护。要显示它您需要在浏览器中启用JavaScript。; Tel.: +43-512-9003-70706

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has inflicted unprecedented pressure on communities and health-care systems around the world. An outstandingly broad and intensive investigation of possible therapeutic interventions is currently taking place to prevent similar future threats to the global population. Investigating the related mechanisms of action is often complex and time consuming. Moreover, research on biochemical interactions of new drugs involves a considerable amount of effort, consequently bearing inherent financial and operational risks for pharmaceutical companies. An interesting approach to counteract colonization and infection is the concept of antiseptic treatment in vivo. Antiseptics are cost-effective and globally accessible, due to their ease of production, transportation and handling. A broad spectrum of active agents with different properties is readily available. One of these substances is hypochlorous acid (HOCl), which is also a naturally occurring biocidal agent and as such part of the innate immune system. Its successful history of medical use in wound treatment, combined with low cytotoxicity and documented efficacy against various pathogens, suggests that HOCl might be an effective agent for treating the respiratory mucosa. This could potentially enable therapeutic inhalation for combating bacterial infections and viral pathogens such as human respiratory syncytial, influenza, and SARS-CoV-2 viruses, which will be discussed in the present article.

Keywords: HOCl; respiratory infection; antiseptic; antimicrobial treatment; RSV; influenza; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2