Short answer:  Nazava Water Filters remove roughly 95% of viruses. Our filters are certified by the WHO to provide targeted protection against bacteria and protozoa. Depending on the type and viral load, our filters remove some but not all viruses.

The main difference between bacteria and viruses is that bacteria are independent, living organisms that can survive on their own. Viruses on the other hand, are much smaller, non-living collections of molecules that need a host to survive. For this reason, viruses do not survive very long in water, especially if it is a large or fast moving body of water.  Therefore if you use piped or ground water, it is unlikely that your water will have viruses, as there is sufficient dilution and no host organism from which the viruses can multiply. However, if your water comes from a small pond where people or animals also defecate, then our filters may not be sufficient because the viral load is too high. Generally though, unless your water comes directly from a sewer, or you dump feces in your well water, then our filters can be used on all sources of rain, river, or tap water.

How much virus can a Nazava Water Filter remove? 

About 95%. 

Viruses themselves are too small to be removed by filtration. However, since viruses need to attach themselves to an organism to survive, it’s these organisms that get attached to particles and get removed by the ceramic filter. However, many of the remaining 5% will be inactivated by the nano-silver in the Nazava Water Filter. See research from Park et al. for example. In addition activated silver has been shown to be effective against HIV, Murine norovirus 1 (MNV-1), and hepatitis. 

To summarize, due to the combination of filtration and nano silver, our filters provide decent protection against viruses when using ground, tap, river, or rain water. However, if you suspect your water source has an extremely high viral load, we recommend using a different water source, otherwise you may need additional disinfection like chlorine. 

To learn more about what Nazava Water Filters can remove, check out this article.