Clean Air Optima® Product Advice: bacteria and viruses

CA-510Pro Smart

Suitable for small and large rooms up to 110m² / 275m³

• Ionizer
• DUAL Airflowsystem
• CADR certification
• Intelligent Particle Sensor
• Clean Air Optima® App

CA-509Pro Smart

Suitable for small and large rooms up to 90m² / 225m³

• Ionizer
• DUAL Airflowsystem
• CADR certification
• Intelligent Particle Sensor
• Clean Air Optima® App

CA-508

Suitable for small and large rooms up to 80m² / 200m³

• Ionizer
• Effective air purification in seven steps
• CADR certification
• Easy to operate via the control panel

CA-507 Smart

Suitable for small and large rooms up to 70m² / 175m³

• Ioniser
• 360° Airflow
• Air purification in 6 steps
• CADR certification
• Clean Air Optima® App

CA-506

Suitable for small and large rooms up to 60m² / 150m³

• Ionizer
• Effective air purification in six steps
• CADR certification
• Easy to operate via the control panel

CA-401

Suitable for small and large rooms up to 60m² / 150m³

• Ionizer
• Effective air purification in five steps
• UV Plasma
• CADR certification
• Low-noise fan
• Slim tower model

CA-505 Smart

Suitable for small and large rooms up to 50m² / 125m³

• Ioniser
• 360° Airflow
• Air purification in 6 steps
• CADR certification
• Clean Air Optima® App

CA-503B Compact Smart

Suitable for small and large rooms up to 30m² / 75m³

• Ionizer
• 360° Airflow
• CADR certification
• Intelligent Particle Sensor
• Aromatherapy
• Clean Air Optima® App

CA-503T Compact Smart

Suitable for small and large rooms up to 30m² / 75m³

• Ionizer
• 360° Airflow
• CADR certification
• Intelligent Particle Sensor
• Aromatherapy
• Clean Air Optima® App

CA-502Pro Mini

Suitable for small and large rooms up to 20m² / 40m³

• Ionizer
• DUAL Airflowsystem
• CADR certification
• Digital LED display with touch controls
• Compact model

Airway infections

A respiratory infection is an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract. Inhaled air can contain all kinds of pathogens, such as viruses and bacteria.

Upper respiratory tract infections, such as colds and strep throat, are usually caused by a virus and almost always go away without treatment. Lower respiratory tract infections include pneumonia and bronchitis. These can be caused by either a virus or bacteria and can lead to serious illness. Every year, people end up in intensive care with severe pneumonia. Often due to flu, but now also regularly due to COVID-19. Bacteria, viruses and moulds can cause pneumonia. Pneumonia is a leading cause of death in the Netherlands.

These are the viruses and bacteria that can cause respiratory infections: Adenovirus, Chlamydophila pneumoniae, Influenza, Haemophilus influenza type b, Influenza type A (H7N9), Whooping cough, Legionella, MERS Coronavirus, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Pneumococcus, Psittacosis, Q fever, Rhino.

What are bacteria and viruses?

Bacteria are single-celled organisms. They are everywhere like on your skin, the table, the toilet, the kitchen towel, but they are not visible to the naked eye. The average size of a bacterium is one micrometre, one thousandth of a millimetre. There are good bacteria and bad bacteria. When bad bacteria enter the body, they can be pathogenic. This is because they make toxins.

A bacterium is a cell without a cell nucleus, and is also called a micro-organism. They are so small that they can just barely be seen with a light microscope. Under the microscope, bacteria look like globules, rods or spirals.

Under the right conditions, bacteria can multiply rapidly and even survive under extreme weather conditions. They do this by dividing themselves in two each time. This is called exponential growth. Thus, at room temperature, billions of bacteria can form from a single bacterium in half a day.

Viruses are even smaller than bacteria. If they enter the body, they can be pathogenic just like bacteria. Some viruses can make the body so sick that it becomes dangerous. Viruses live and divide in small building blocks of the body called cells. If there are too many viruses in a cell, the cell breaks down. And if too many cells break down, one can get sick or even die.

A virus is a piece of DNA or RNA surrounded by a protein membrane. Furthermore, a virus has no metabolism of its own, no organelles and cannot survive without a host. Because of this, you can say that, unlike moulds and bacteria, a virus is not a 'real' cell. Moreover, a virus is much smaller than a bacterium.

The protein membrane surrounding the virus provides protection for the virus. Viruses are contagious and they are often transmitted by air or through food. Examples of known viruses include the flu, common cold and COVID-19 (coronavirus). After the virus enters a cell, it starts copying its own genetic material. When it has doubled several times, the host cell will 'die'. The virus is now released into the body. Outside the body, a virus stays alive for a maximum of one day. A well-known property of a virus is that they evolve rapidly. That is, they are constantly changing. This sometimes makes it difficult to fight a viral infection. A virus cannot be combatted with antibiotics. A vaccination, on the other hand, can help.

What do bacteria do?
They grow and divide. The better the conditions are for the bacteria, the faster they grow and divide. Each division means that two new ones arise from one bacterium, each of which also divides into two more, etc. etc. Under favourable conditions an E.coli bacterium, for example, can divide once in 20 minutes. So, in 20 minutes one bacterium will become two bacteria, in 40 minutes 4 (2x2) and in an hour 8 (4x2). In 24 hours, that's over 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (1 trillion)!

What are viruses?
Every human comes into constant contact with potential pathogens such as viruses. Sometimes the virus enters the body and an infection develops. If the virus spreads further, you may develop symptoms. The body responds to the invader with an inflammatory response. The substances released in the process produce symptoms of illness. Symptoms depend on the characteristics of the virus and the body part or organ favoured by the virus.

Virus infection
Flu and colds are the most common viral infections. Many viral infections are transmitted through hand contact and coughing. The flu and cold viruses are in droplets of (nasal) mucus and saliva. Talking, coughing or sneezing spread the viruses. This happens especially in spaces where people are sitting close together and where ventilation is poor, for example in a train or bus, a school or nursery.

Source: RIVM / Nederlands Huisartsen Genootschap

Clean Air Optima® mobile air purifiers free indoor air from
pathogens such as viruses, bacteria and mould spores

Clean Air Optima® air purifiers deactivate bacteria, viruses and mould spores present in indoor air. This minimises the risk of allergic reactions, respiratory infections and transmission of bacteria and viruses.