Hand sanitizers are among the most common items used in health care settings and food processing plants. Unfortunately, however, many people use hand sanitizers that are contaminated with one of the most dangerous strains of bacteria on earth, responsible for more than half a million cases of pneumonia and other illnesses each year.
An active variety of the coronavirus, made famous by Duncan, Oklahoma’s water supply, is responsible for some cases of illness linked to liquid hand sanitizer. Hospital outbreaks, deadly outbreaks among children in Utah, and outbreaks among the elderly in Seattle and Rhode Island have all been linked to the virus. It is generally considered to be an opportunistic pathogen; meaning, it can survive for long periods without causing disease unless confronted with immune individuals.
Although the virus is rarely transmitted through hand-to-hand contact, medical and public health workers who handle contaminated liquid hand sanitizer face the threat of becoming infected. In clinical settings, many patients are expected to use liquid hand sanitizer for protection from the eye and nose. It is highly unlikely that this virus will cause contamination in the hands, but it can be transferred during hand-to-hand contact with the hands or skin.
The term coronavirus refers to the family of viruses responsible for disease caused by the coronavirus, the virus family that includes coronaviruses, parainfluenza viruses, and coronaviruses. The coronaviruses can be distinguished by their ability to evolve into different forms, including the respiratory coronaviruses. The primary difference between the two types of coronaviruses is that they cause respiratory infections.
Between the time the coronaviruses were first isolated in monkeys in Japan in 1970 and the present, more than 20 different strains of the virus have been identified in non-human primates. The coronaviruses cause various respiratory infections, including parainfluenza, parainfluenza pandemics, and coronavirus respiratory syndrome.
The strains of the respiratory coronaviruses that cause infection in humans are contained in one virus, called CMXN, which was discovered in 1992. While no one can be certain about the differences between strains of the virus, researchers believe the changes are subtle and not easily seen.
To date, there is no treatment for the human forms of the viruses, and the only method of removing contamination from the liquid hand sanitizer that health care workers use is to repeatedly re-sanitize the solution. There are currently two FDA-approved medications for the removal of the virus, but these medications are not usually used in clinical settings because they do not prevent transmission of the virus. The first medication, emtricitabine, was introduced in the mid-1990s.
The second medication, tipranavir, was not approved for use in the United States until 1998. Since then, both drugs have been approved by the FDA for use in the prevention of viral transmission.
While the transmission of the virus has not been completely blocked, the use of both medications appears to be effective in preventing virus spread through the hands, skin, and mouth of health care workers who use liquid hand sanitizer. Because the use of hand sanitizer does not involve direct contact with the mucous membranes, these methods of preventing transmission appear to be very effective.
Although the safety of the liquid hand sanitizer in the hands of health care workers is the subject of much debate, there is no need to become nervous about the virus. With the widespread use of products containing chlorhexidine, it is impossible for a person to contract the virus by coming into contact with the solution.
There is also no indication that the virus spreads through the eyes, nose, or throat. Unlike hepatitis C, the primary cause of infection with the virus, the transmission of the coronavirus is generally limited to respiratory and other sites.
In the event that the virus gets into the nose or mouth, healthcare workers must stop using the liquid hand sanitizer immediately and contact a health care provider for further instructions on how to prevent virus transmission. from infecting others.