The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) funded a study that showed SteraMist iHP to be an efficient treatment for deformed wing virus (DWV)-contaminated hive substrates. TOMI Environmental Solutions, Inc.® (“TOMI”) (NASDAQ: TOMZ), a global company specialising in disinfection and decontamination solutions, completed the study today.
The purpose of the study was to ascertain whether using cold plasma ionised hydrogen peroxide (iHP) could lessen the DWV’s ability to infect young honey bee pupae. A common disease of Apis mellifera (Western and European) honey bees, deformed wing virus (DWV) causes established honey bee colonies to fail. A global loss in the variety of fresh produce and a major impact on human nutrition could be caused by widespread colony collapse. It is crucial for the USDA and NIFA to find a non-toxic, rapid, and efficient disinfection technology capable of deactivating latent DWV on hive substrates because honey bees become sick by coming into contact with DWV-contaminated beeswax in the hive.
A SteraMist Environment System was used in the investigation, combined with a TOMI Binary Ionisation Technology (BIT) solution, to create an ultra-fine mist of 0.05–3 micron-sized particles. Cold plasma was then used to ionise the mist for 15 minutes on sub- or aliquots of a larger batch of phosphate-buffered saline solution, either with or without deformed wing virus (DWV). The aliquots were then administered to immature honey bee pupae, who were given three days to develop before DWV content analysis..
The results demonstrated that iHP is a quick and efficient approach for removing pathogens from honey bee substrate contaminated with the deformed wing virus. In comparison to infection levels in honey bees injected with DWV-positive aliquots without SteraMist treatment, the development of infection in honey bees treated with ionised hydrogen peroxide (iHP) was statistically considerably reduced. Comparing iHP treatment to ethylene oxide treatment or gamma irradiation, it was discovered that iHP treatment produced higher levels of DWV inactivation at a noticeably shorter treatment time.
SteraMist’s non-toxic qualities offer further environmental benefits because ethylene oxide and gamma irradiation have side effects that could be detrimental to humans and animals. Even with honeybees present, treating DWV-contaminated hive substrates with iHP may be an efficient strategy to lessen the effects of infection with DWV on honey bees. You can get the whole findings from this page.
The great potential of iHP as a ground-breaking technique for preventing honey bee colony collapse and subsequently safeguarding the world food supply is confirmed by these results. We are committed to advancing the use of SteraMist in agricultural settings and look forward to continuing our cooperation with the USDA and NIFA.
CEO of TOMI Dr. Halden Shane adopted a more charitable stance: “Innovating for a Safer World has always been our slogan. While no one can prevent the globe from being destroyed by earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, volcanoes, or avian influenza, we think SteraMist IHP technology can at least make a dent in that effort by keeping. Honey bees are safer because they are essential to life on Earth. Albert Einstein, considered to be one of the greatest minds of all time, famously said: “If the bee disappeared off the face of the Earth, man would only have four years left to live.” The loss of honey bees costs the food business 18 billion dollars since bees are essential to the pollination of 30% of the food crops. I am extremely thrilled that our technology could play a role in rescuing the world!”
Through the production, selling, and licencing of its top-tier Binary Ionisation Technology ® (BITTM) platform, a global decontamination and infection prevention corporation offers environmental disinfection solutions. In order to achieve superior disinfection, all SteraMist systems use the patented ionised Hydrogen Peroxide (iHPTM) technology, which was developed under a defence grant in collaboration with the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the U.S. Department of Defence. Products from TOMI are made to cater to a variety of use sites,
including, but not restricted to, food safety, medical facilities, commercial and office buildings, schools, restaurants, meat and produce processing plants, hospitals, biosafety labs, and fire and police departments.
This press release includes forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections of future performance based on management’s perceptions, assumptions, and expectations for the performance of the products in question. These predictions include, but are not limited to, claims about SteraMist’s capacity to treat bee-related viruses. Forward-looking statements entail risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes to substantially differ from those projected. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of our control and all of which are challenging to anticipate with any degree of accuracy.
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