Abstract
AbstractThe liberal use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers (ABHS) for hand disinfection has raised questions regarding the bactericidal efficacies of brands that are widely available in Ghana. Ten different brands of hand sanitizers bearing different chemical constituents and originating from six different countries were purchased in Kumasi, Ghana. The 10 samples represent the only available brands in the retail market. Purchased brands were examined for their relative bactericidal efficacies with the combined use of agar well diffusion, broth dilution, and viable bacterial count reduction assays. Serially diluted solutions of the ABHS displayed variable brand-specific bactericidal efficacies against a panel of bacteria specimen that comprised three gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Streptococcus pneumonia) and three gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi) in the agar well diffusion and in the broth dilution assays. Neither gram...
Highlights
Judicious use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers (ABHS) has been reported to provide multiple beneficial effects including a reduction in infection-related illnesses that leads to absenteeism among elementary school children (Hammond, Ali, Fendler, Dolan, & Donovan, 2000; Meadows & Le-Saux, 2004)
The results shows that available brands have varying degrees of efficacies that manifests in a concentration-dependent growth inhibition of bacterial strains in agar diffusion and broth dilution assays
Chemical content of ABHS Largely because of its proven bactericidal activities primarily attributed to its denaturation of microbial proteins, alcohol was found to be consistently present in the list of active constituents of all of the examined ABHS provided by the manufacturer
Summary
Judicious use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers (ABHS) has been reported to provide multiple beneficial effects including a reduction in infection-related illnesses that leads to absenteeism among elementary school children (Hammond, Ali, Fendler, Dolan, & Donovan, 2000; Meadows & Le-Saux, 2004). ABHS use has proven, with empirical evidence, to provide a first line of defense against the risk of transmission of multiple infections, including influenza, pharyngitis, and diarrheal illnesses (Bloomfield et al, 2007). Some ABHS may contain other chemical constituents that work in synergy with the bactericidal action of the alcohols. ABHS users rely on its rapid bactericidal effects for transient and quick hand disinfection, in cases where soap and water use are either inconvenient or inaccessible
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