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LitCovid-PD-FMA-UBERON

LitCovid-PD-UBERON

LitCovid-PD-MONDO

{"project":"LitCovid-PD-MONDO","denotations":[{"id":"T13","span":{"begin":1871,"end":1879},"obj":"Disease"},{"id":"T14","span":{"begin":2018,"end":2026},"obj":"Disease"},{"id":"T15","span":{"begin":2821,"end":2829},"obj":"Disease"},{"id":"T16","span":{"begin":4319,"end":4327},"obj":"Disease"},{"id":"T17","span":{"begin":4440,"end":4450},"obj":"Disease"},{"id":"T18","span":{"begin":5045,"end":5054},"obj":"Disease"},{"id":"T19","span":{"begin":5142,"end":5150},"obj":"Disease"},{"id":"T20","span":{"begin":5207,"end":5216},"obj":"Disease"}],"attributes":[{"id":"A13","pred":"mondo_id","subj":"T13","obj":"http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/MONDO_0100096"},{"id":"A14","pred":"mondo_id","subj":"T14","obj":"http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/MONDO_0100096"},{"id":"A15","pred":"mondo_id","subj":"T15","obj":"http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/MONDO_0005091"},{"id":"A16","pred":"mondo_id","subj":"T16","obj":"http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/MONDO_0005091"},{"id":"A17","pred":"mondo_id","subj":"T17","obj":"http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/MONDO_0005550"},{"id":"A18","pred":"mondo_id","subj":"T18","obj":"http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/MONDO_0005550"},{"id":"A19","pred":"mondo_id","subj":"T19","obj":"http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/MONDO_0100096"},{"id":"A20","pred":"mondo_id","subj":"T20","obj":"http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/MONDO_0005550"}],"text":"DISCUSSION\nThe result of our analysis reveals that three of the seven ABHRs tested have ethanolic content below the range recommended by regulatory agencies (60 to 95% v/v) (5–7). However, one of these gels, i.e. gel 3, contains, also isopropyl alcohol (Table I) in addition to 52% ethanol; thus, the overall alcoholic content of this product is likely to be within the expected range for disinfection.\nThe EU regulations for biocides (10) require that the concentration of the active (e.g. ethanol) should be stated in the label. Of the two tested biocides, gel 5 has ≈ 66% (w/w) ethanol, against a label claim of 70% (w/w), and gel 2 contained ≈ 64% (w/w) ethanol, against 74% (w/w; with ethanol 96%, corresponding to ≈ 71% with absolute ethanol) of the label claim. Despite some discrepancy with the label claim, both biocides contain alcohol well within the range recommended by the health agencies. On the other hand, products containing “substandard” (\u003c 60% v/v) concentrations of ethanol, i.e. gels 3, 4 and 6, are all cosmetics (Table I). EU regulations on cosmetics require that all ingredients should be reported in the label (11), in descending order of weight, while there is no requirement to report the concentration of alcohol. Thus, also gels 3, 4 and 6 comply with EU regulations. Such products are, however, cosmetics to be used solely for cleansing purposes and not suitable for hand disinfection.\nA question arises to whether consumers would be able to distinguish between two basically identical hand product types, which are biocidal hand gels and cosmetics hand gels (differing only for the label). Most probably many consumers are unable to choose the right product for the right purpose, with high chance that “under-dosed” (i.e. \u003c 60% v/v of ethanol) cosmetic gels are improperly used by individuals who intend to disinfect their hands amid the CoViD-19 pandemic. This risk that cosmetic hand sanitisers might be sold and used inappropriately in place of disinfectants is not remote amid the CoViD-19 health crisis. Indeed, in April 2020, after witnessing a sharp increase in the submissions to the Cosmetics Product Notification Portal, a clarification for economic operators was deemed “urgently needed” by the European Commission (4). The “Guidance on the applicable legislation for leave-on hand cleaners and hand disinfectants (gel, solution, etc.)” was thus promptly issued.\nIt is worth noting that none of the ABHRs tested contains any trace of methanol. The issue of methanol contamination in ABHRs has been recently raised by the US FDA, which has issued a list of nearly 90 “do-not-use” dangerous hand sanitisers containing methanol. Among the tested products, methanol content ranged between 1 and 80% (12).\nGiven the stringent safety measures and difficulty in sourcing and handling SARS-CoV-2 virus, the antibacterial test of Fig. 2 aimed to provide some preliminary results on the intrinsic disinfection power of the tested ABHRs. It is worth noting that to better discriminate on the antibacterial activity, hand gels were tested diluted. In agreement with their high ethanolic content and regulatory classification, both biocides (gels 2 and 5) elicit strong antibacterial activity. Among the five cosmetics, the antibacterial activity is variable between products and not always directly related to the concentration of ethanol. For example, gel 7, which ranks fourth out of the seven gels in terms of ethanolic content, showed strong antibacterial effect. This can possibly be attributed to the presence of other ingredients in the formulations (e.g. preservatives and organic acids) that can have antimicrobial activity. For instance, citric acid (present in gel 7) can substantially increase viricidal activity of alcohol-based hand sanitisers (13) and it has also antibacterial activity (14). Overall, although ingredients other than alcohol can have an adjuvant antimicrobial effect, safe hand disinfection should rely exclusively on alcohol content. Health agencies discourage the use of all products other than those containing at least 60% (v/v) alcohol (5). Scientists, as well, suggest not adding bactericidal agents to ABHRs as they do not add clear benefits (15), while some may increase the risk of antibiotic resistance (16). If and once virus-like particles of SARS-CoV-2 will be ready available, future experimental work shall focus on the evaluation of the stability of these non-infectious viral mimics upon exposure to biocidal and cosmetics hand sanitisers.\nIn conclusion, we propose to answer the provocative question raised in the title of this article, i.e. to whether the hand sanitisers available in the market fulfil quality needs. We demonstrated that:The tested products fulfil the regulatory requirements specific to the class to which they belong (i.e. biocide or cosmetic).\nYet, some cosmetic hand sanitisers, which alcoholic concentration is not stated in the label, contain ethanol (e.g. ≈ 40%) well below the range of concentrations recommended by health agencies for infection prevention, thus following below expected standards of disinfection.\nIn the era of the CoViD-19 pandemic, when hand disinfection is deemed as a crucial infection prevention measure (3), having off-the-shelf cosmetic hand gels with sub-disinfecting concentrations of ethanol is concerning. How many from the general public are inadvertently using gels containing ≈ 40% ethanol as those tested here, expecting efficient disinfection? Such problem could perhaps be mitigated by awareness campaigns, appropriate pharmacists counselling and revisions of current regulations. A system could be introduced to require manufacturers of cosmetic ABHRs to add, for example, an extra label which states “not for disinfection” in a large and easily readable size."}

LitCovid-PD-CLO

LitCovid-PD-CHEBI

LitCovid-PubTator

LitCovid-PD-GO-BP

{"project":"LitCovid-PD-GO-BP","denotations":[{"id":"T4","span":{"begin":410,"end":421},"obj":"http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GO_0065007"},{"id":"T5","span":{"begin":1050,"end":1061},"obj":"http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GO_0065007"},{"id":"T6","span":{"begin":1285,"end":1296},"obj":"http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GO_0065007"},{"id":"T7","span":{"begin":5612,"end":5623},"obj":"http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GO_0065007"}],"text":"DISCUSSION\nThe result of our analysis reveals that three of the seven ABHRs tested have ethanolic content below the range recommended by regulatory agencies (60 to 95% v/v) (5–7). However, one of these gels, i.e. gel 3, contains, also isopropyl alcohol (Table I) in addition to 52% ethanol; thus, the overall alcoholic content of this product is likely to be within the expected range for disinfection.\nThe EU regulations for biocides (10) require that the concentration of the active (e.g. ethanol) should be stated in the label. Of the two tested biocides, gel 5 has ≈ 66% (w/w) ethanol, against a label claim of 70% (w/w), and gel 2 contained ≈ 64% (w/w) ethanol, against 74% (w/w; with ethanol 96%, corresponding to ≈ 71% with absolute ethanol) of the label claim. Despite some discrepancy with the label claim, both biocides contain alcohol well within the range recommended by the health agencies. On the other hand, products containing “substandard” (\u003c 60% v/v) concentrations of ethanol, i.e. gels 3, 4 and 6, are all cosmetics (Table I). EU regulations on cosmetics require that all ingredients should be reported in the label (11), in descending order of weight, while there is no requirement to report the concentration of alcohol. Thus, also gels 3, 4 and 6 comply with EU regulations. Such products are, however, cosmetics to be used solely for cleansing purposes and not suitable for hand disinfection.\nA question arises to whether consumers would be able to distinguish between two basically identical hand product types, which are biocidal hand gels and cosmetics hand gels (differing only for the label). Most probably many consumers are unable to choose the right product for the right purpose, with high chance that “under-dosed” (i.e. \u003c 60% v/v of ethanol) cosmetic gels are improperly used by individuals who intend to disinfect their hands amid the CoViD-19 pandemic. This risk that cosmetic hand sanitisers might be sold and used inappropriately in place of disinfectants is not remote amid the CoViD-19 health crisis. Indeed, in April 2020, after witnessing a sharp increase in the submissions to the Cosmetics Product Notification Portal, a clarification for economic operators was deemed “urgently needed” by the European Commission (4). The “Guidance on the applicable legislation for leave-on hand cleaners and hand disinfectants (gel, solution, etc.)” was thus promptly issued.\nIt is worth noting that none of the ABHRs tested contains any trace of methanol. The issue of methanol contamination in ABHRs has been recently raised by the US FDA, which has issued a list of nearly 90 “do-not-use” dangerous hand sanitisers containing methanol. Among the tested products, methanol content ranged between 1 and 80% (12).\nGiven the stringent safety measures and difficulty in sourcing and handling SARS-CoV-2 virus, the antibacterial test of Fig. 2 aimed to provide some preliminary results on the intrinsic disinfection power of the tested ABHRs. It is worth noting that to better discriminate on the antibacterial activity, hand gels were tested diluted. In agreement with their high ethanolic content and regulatory classification, both biocides (gels 2 and 5) elicit strong antibacterial activity. Among the five cosmetics, the antibacterial activity is variable between products and not always directly related to the concentration of ethanol. For example, gel 7, which ranks fourth out of the seven gels in terms of ethanolic content, showed strong antibacterial effect. This can possibly be attributed to the presence of other ingredients in the formulations (e.g. preservatives and organic acids) that can have antimicrobial activity. For instance, citric acid (present in gel 7) can substantially increase viricidal activity of alcohol-based hand sanitisers (13) and it has also antibacterial activity (14). Overall, although ingredients other than alcohol can have an adjuvant antimicrobial effect, safe hand disinfection should rely exclusively on alcohol content. Health agencies discourage the use of all products other than those containing at least 60% (v/v) alcohol (5). Scientists, as well, suggest not adding bactericidal agents to ABHRs as they do not add clear benefits (15), while some may increase the risk of antibiotic resistance (16). If and once virus-like particles of SARS-CoV-2 will be ready available, future experimental work shall focus on the evaluation of the stability of these non-infectious viral mimics upon exposure to biocidal and cosmetics hand sanitisers.\nIn conclusion, we propose to answer the provocative question raised in the title of this article, i.e. to whether the hand sanitisers available in the market fulfil quality needs. We demonstrated that:The tested products fulfil the regulatory requirements specific to the class to which they belong (i.e. biocide or cosmetic).\nYet, some cosmetic hand sanitisers, which alcoholic concentration is not stated in the label, contain ethanol (e.g. ≈ 40%) well below the range of concentrations recommended by health agencies for infection prevention, thus following below expected standards of disinfection.\nIn the era of the CoViD-19 pandemic, when hand disinfection is deemed as a crucial infection prevention measure (3), having off-the-shelf cosmetic hand gels with sub-disinfecting concentrations of ethanol is concerning. How many from the general public are inadvertently using gels containing ≈ 40% ethanol as those tested here, expecting efficient disinfection? Such problem could perhaps be mitigated by awareness campaigns, appropriate pharmacists counselling and revisions of current regulations. A system could be introduced to require manufacturers of cosmetic ABHRs to add, for example, an extra label which states “not for disinfection” in a large and easily readable size."}

LitCovid-sentences

2_test

{"project":"2_test","denotations":[{"id":"33063151-28882643-27354","span":{"begin":3791,"end":3793},"obj":"28882643"},{"id":"33063151-32273009-27355","span":{"begin":3835,"end":3837},"obj":"32273009"},{"id":"33063151-27912980-27356","span":{"begin":4214,"end":4216},"obj":"27912980"},{"id":"33063151-32461194-27357","span":{"begin":5237,"end":5238},"obj":"32461194"}],"text":"DISCUSSION\nThe result of our analysis reveals that three of the seven ABHRs tested have ethanolic content below the range recommended by regulatory agencies (60 to 95% v/v) (5–7). However, one of these gels, i.e. gel 3, contains, also isopropyl alcohol (Table I) in addition to 52% ethanol; thus, the overall alcoholic content of this product is likely to be within the expected range for disinfection.\nThe EU regulations for biocides (10) require that the concentration of the active (e.g. ethanol) should be stated in the label. Of the two tested biocides, gel 5 has ≈ 66% (w/w) ethanol, against a label claim of 70% (w/w), and gel 2 contained ≈ 64% (w/w) ethanol, against 74% (w/w; with ethanol 96%, corresponding to ≈ 71% with absolute ethanol) of the label claim. Despite some discrepancy with the label claim, both biocides contain alcohol well within the range recommended by the health agencies. On the other hand, products containing “substandard” (\u003c 60% v/v) concentrations of ethanol, i.e. gels 3, 4 and 6, are all cosmetics (Table I). EU regulations on cosmetics require that all ingredients should be reported in the label (11), in descending order of weight, while there is no requirement to report the concentration of alcohol. Thus, also gels 3, 4 and 6 comply with EU regulations. Such products are, however, cosmetics to be used solely for cleansing purposes and not suitable for hand disinfection.\nA question arises to whether consumers would be able to distinguish between two basically identical hand product types, which are biocidal hand gels and cosmetics hand gels (differing only for the label). Most probably many consumers are unable to choose the right product for the right purpose, with high chance that “under-dosed” (i.e. \u003c 60% v/v of ethanol) cosmetic gels are improperly used by individuals who intend to disinfect their hands amid the CoViD-19 pandemic. This risk that cosmetic hand sanitisers might be sold and used inappropriately in place of disinfectants is not remote amid the CoViD-19 health crisis. Indeed, in April 2020, after witnessing a sharp increase in the submissions to the Cosmetics Product Notification Portal, a clarification for economic operators was deemed “urgently needed” by the European Commission (4). The “Guidance on the applicable legislation for leave-on hand cleaners and hand disinfectants (gel, solution, etc.)” was thus promptly issued.\nIt is worth noting that none of the ABHRs tested contains any trace of methanol. The issue of methanol contamination in ABHRs has been recently raised by the US FDA, which has issued a list of nearly 90 “do-not-use” dangerous hand sanitisers containing methanol. Among the tested products, methanol content ranged between 1 and 80% (12).\nGiven the stringent safety measures and difficulty in sourcing and handling SARS-CoV-2 virus, the antibacterial test of Fig. 2 aimed to provide some preliminary results on the intrinsic disinfection power of the tested ABHRs. It is worth noting that to better discriminate on the antibacterial activity, hand gels were tested diluted. In agreement with their high ethanolic content and regulatory classification, both biocides (gels 2 and 5) elicit strong antibacterial activity. Among the five cosmetics, the antibacterial activity is variable between products and not always directly related to the concentration of ethanol. For example, gel 7, which ranks fourth out of the seven gels in terms of ethanolic content, showed strong antibacterial effect. This can possibly be attributed to the presence of other ingredients in the formulations (e.g. preservatives and organic acids) that can have antimicrobial activity. For instance, citric acid (present in gel 7) can substantially increase viricidal activity of alcohol-based hand sanitisers (13) and it has also antibacterial activity (14). Overall, although ingredients other than alcohol can have an adjuvant antimicrobial effect, safe hand disinfection should rely exclusively on alcohol content. Health agencies discourage the use of all products other than those containing at least 60% (v/v) alcohol (5). Scientists, as well, suggest not adding bactericidal agents to ABHRs as they do not add clear benefits (15), while some may increase the risk of antibiotic resistance (16). If and once virus-like particles of SARS-CoV-2 will be ready available, future experimental work shall focus on the evaluation of the stability of these non-infectious viral mimics upon exposure to biocidal and cosmetics hand sanitisers.\nIn conclusion, we propose to answer the provocative question raised in the title of this article, i.e. to whether the hand sanitisers available in the market fulfil quality needs. We demonstrated that:The tested products fulfil the regulatory requirements specific to the class to which they belong (i.e. biocide or cosmetic).\nYet, some cosmetic hand sanitisers, which alcoholic concentration is not stated in the label, contain ethanol (e.g. ≈ 40%) well below the range of concentrations recommended by health agencies for infection prevention, thus following below expected standards of disinfection.\nIn the era of the CoViD-19 pandemic, when hand disinfection is deemed as a crucial infection prevention measure (3), having off-the-shelf cosmetic hand gels with sub-disinfecting concentrations of ethanol is concerning. How many from the general public are inadvertently using gels containing ≈ 40% ethanol as those tested here, expecting efficient disinfection? Such problem could perhaps be mitigated by awareness campaigns, appropriate pharmacists counselling and revisions of current regulations. A system could be introduced to require manufacturers of cosmetic ABHRs to add, for example, an extra label which states “not for disinfection” in a large and easily readable size."}

PMC:7561283 / 13908-19713 JSONTXT

Annnotations TAB JSON ListView MergeView

PMC:7561283 / 13908-19713 JSON TXT