The COVID-19 pandemic presented us with an unfamiliar and almost surreal scenario. For weeks, we stayed in our homes to protect ourselves from something we could not even see with our own eyes, but for months it caused millions of deaths and damage to the economy in many countries around the world. It was a great shock for everyone at first, we realised that we were completely unprepared for something that perhaps even the most pessimistic of us would never have imagined. WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that a new pandemic ‘is only a question of when, not if’ and that the world, despite past experience, would not yet be ready to deal with it in a proper, timely and comprehensive way. If the painful lessons we have suffered in recent years are not retained and put into practice, there is a risk that a new pandemic will be more damaging than the previous ones. The new pandemic, we cannot know, could be caused by a new coronavirus, an influenza virus, or a new pathogen that is not even known now. If the new pandemic were to start tomorrow, many of the problems that have arisen previously would re-emerge in the same way as the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is why the crucial hygiene and health standards, learnt and implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, should not be completely forgotten. Preventive work is of fundamental importance in order to be prepared for a new pandemic and to limit the damage it could cause as much as possible. Not only hygiene regulations and habits can make a difference, but also those of our daily lifestyle. For example, according to research conducted by the University of Ottawa (Canada), the climate crisis could accelerate the diffusion of new pandemics associated with viruses that have been present for thousands of years in glaciers and released due to overheating. If the damage from intense weather phenomena, heat waves, droughts or high sea temperatures is already clearly visible to our eyes, a potential risk for mankind is now also hidden in the dynamics triggered by overheating that are leading to the melting of glaciers. The greatest potential source of ‘prehistoric’ microorganisms is the permafrost, the frozen ground that lies below the glacial ice sheets. It has also been verified that viruses unknown to us in Siberian permafrost are still able to infect. As always in such cases, it is important to avoid both unnecessary alarmism and underestimation of the problem. It is certain that only a very small percentage of these have the potential to infect humans, but even a single species could be capable of causing a widespread pandemic. In public medicine, the severity of an infectious disease is not proportional to its probability: a very rare, extremely unlikely event can cause dramatic consequences.

Hygiene rules, if maintained properly and over time, can greatly limit the damage that a new pandemic would cause. One issue of crucial importance is certainly that of limiting the spread of bacteria in public environments. These environments are particularly prone to the proliferation and spread of pathogens, and consequently their frequentation can spread diseases that can manifest themselves in a serious form in the most fragile individuals. Very frequently we take it for granted that the normal paper we use to dry our hands, blow our nose or wrap a sandwich is perfectly clean and uncontaminated. But the reality is very different! Tissue paper articles are stored in places that are often contaminated with bacteria, and cellulose is a natural element where microbes can easily proliferate. In addition, bacteria in the air can also contaminate the paper and consequently make it a vehicle for transmission. But there is a solution to all this and it is called Eco Silver Paper®. It is a new technology based on stabilised silver ions that can make paper totally uncontaminated and not only that, make it antibacterial and virucidal. Items treated with the active ingredient Eco Silver Paper® remain 100% hygienic for up to 2 years after production! You can find the entire range of treated products at www.ecosilverpaper.com. All articles are suitable for food contact and dermatologically tested.

U.G.