Research presented last week at the PDT-PDD Conference in Nancy, France showed that a large food processing plant in Manitoba, Canada, was able to reduce the rate of COVID-19 amongst its employees following the use of Ondine Biomedical Inc (AIM:OBI)'s nasal photodisinfection.
The rate of COVID-19-positive tests in the workforce fell from 6.4% to 0.5%, a reduction of over 10 times compared to rates in the community.
The reduction in COVID-19 cases at the plant meant that food production was able to continue without disruption at a crucial time during the COVID-19 pandemic.
President and chief technology officer Dr. Nicolas Loebel said: "These results were provided to us by the local infection control team in Manitoba. Facilities like this plant are highly vulnerable to disease outbreaks, significantly disrupting food production and impacting sales.
“When nasal photodisinfection was added to the standard infection control bundle, COVID-19 rates were suppressed by over 10 times compared to the surrounding community rates.
“Sales were able to continue to international commercial partners, and equally importantly, acute and long-term illnesses were prevented in the workforce, positively impacting costs going forward."