- The use of disinfectants containing quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) rose sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- These disinfectants have been linked to health issues in animal and human studies.
- The disinfectants may also encourage pathogens to become more resilient to antibacterials and antimicrobials, contributing to the growing antibiotic resistance crisis.
- Experts say soap and water are just as effective for killing the SARS-CoV-2 virus, further reducing the need for QAC disinfectants.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared that COVID-19 is no longer a global public health emergency, but the virus will continue to circulate and retain its pandemic status — though the risk of death and severe illness has significantly declined.
Before we understood how COVID-19 spread, keeping surfaces clean seemed to be a safe bet for lowering transmission rates. While this is a good practice, COVID-19 is primarily spread through airborne particles.
A new review investigates the safety of some compounds commonly found in surface cleaning products, the use of which use rose sharply during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
These disinfectants include cleaning sprays and antibacterial wipes used in the home, in schools, and in healthcare settings.
The review shows quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) in disinfectant products have been associated with health issues, and that their overuse likely contributes to the growing problem of antibacterial resistance.
Further, disinfectants containing QACs are no more effective at killing SARS-CoV-2 than soap and water.
The study is published in the peer-reviewed Environmental Science & Technology journal.
QACs are popular with manufacturers in part because they are non-corrosive on surfaces.
QACs include compounds such as benzalkonium chloride, dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride, and benzethonium chloride. They are found in many surface-cleaning products, according to the study.
Previously, animal studies have suggested…
Read the full article here