HomeHygieneDisinfectant effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses present on human skin: model-based evaluation

Disinfectant effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses present on human skin: model-based evaluation

December 11, 2021

Clin Microbiol Infect. 2021 Jul;27(7):1042.e1-1042.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.cmi.2021.04.009. Epub 2021 Apr 24.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Disinfection effectiveness against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on human skin remains unclear because of the hazards of viral exposure. An evaluation model, which has been previously generated using human skin obtained from forensic autopsy samples, accurately mimics in vivo skin conditions for evaluating the effectiveness of disinfection against the virus. Using this model, we evaluated disinfection effectiveness against viruses on human skin.

METHODS: Ethanol (EA), isopropanol (IPA), chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) and benzalkonium chloride (BAC) were used as target disinfectants. First, disinfectant effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A virus (IAV) was evaluated in vitro. Disinfectant effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 and IAV on human skin was then evaluated by titrating viruses present on the skin after applying each disinfectant on the skin for 5-60 seconds.

RESULTS: Both, SARS-CoV-2 and IAV on human skin were completely inactivated within 5 seconds by 40%-80% EA and 70% IPA (log reduction values (LRVs) were >4). However, SARS-CoV-2 and IAV were barely inactivated by 20% EA (LRVs were <1). In vitro evaluation showed that, compared with EA and IPA, CHG and BAC were significantly inferior in terms of disinfection effectiveness. Conversely, the disinfection effectiveness of CHG and BAC against SARS-CoV-2 was higher on human skin than in vitro, and increased with increases in their concentration and reaction time (LRVs of 0.2% CHG/0.05% BAC were >2, and LRVs of 1.0% CHG/0.2% BAC were >2.5).

CONCLUSIONS: Proper hand hygiene practices using alcohol-based disinfectants such as EA/IPA effectively inactivate SARS-CoV-2 and IAV on human skin.

PMID:33901670 | PMC:PMC8064898 | DOI:10.1016/j.cmi.2021.04.009

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About The Author

Patrick Blanchard MD

Meet Dr. Blanchard Dr. Blanchard’s medical practice is an embodiment of Integrative health which brings conventional and complementary approaches together in a coordinated way. Conveniently located in sunny Florida and over the internet with ValiseMD’s secure HIPPA compliant telXmed servers. Since 1994, patients with a wide range of challenging medical problems have achieved optimum health using the best of natural medicine, judiciously combined with high-tech innovations. Breakthroughs are often achieved even after patients have consulted mainstream specialists and holistic practitioners. Dr. Blanchard is founder and CEO of ValiseMD, Inc. He is board certified in Family Medicine since 1994 and awarded Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians in 2001. He received the ‘Teacher of the Year’ award from the University of Kansas School of Medicine at completion of his residency in Family Medicine. He completed a fellowship at Wake Forest University in the field of vascular neurosonology. He holds a medical patent in the field of Gastroenterology. He holds an unrestricted license to practice medicine and surgery in Florida. He started his medical career as a Emergency Medical Technician, then as a Paramedic and later a Medical Doctor.