Patent ID: 7906019

Claim:
A bacteria deactivation device comprising: a water impermeable receptacle; a porous medium disposed within said receptacle such that an untreated water compartment lies on an upstream side of said porous medium and a treated water compartment lies on a downstream side of said porous medium, said porous medium having a porosity that allows passage of water and bacteria from said untreated water compartment to said treated water compartment at a water flow rate greater than 4 liters per hour; and colloidal silver disposed on said porous medium such that bacteria passing from said untreated water compartment to said treated water compartment through said porous medium are exposed to said colloidal silver to deactivate substantially all of said bacteria wherein said porous medium has a porosity greater than 40%, and a pore size greater than 3 microns, to prevent accumulation of bacteria in said deactivation device.