Soap, water, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): an ancient handwashing strategy for preventing dissemination of a novel virus
Public Health Agencies worldwide (World Health Organization, United States Centers for Disease Prevention & Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, etc.) are recommending hand washing with soap and water for preventing the d...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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PeerJ Inc.
2021-09-01
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Series: | PeerJ |
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Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/12041.pdf |
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author | M. Khalid Ijaz Raymond W. Nims Sarah de Szalay Joseph R. Rubino |
author_facet | M. Khalid Ijaz Raymond W. Nims Sarah de Szalay Joseph R. Rubino |
author_sort | M. Khalid Ijaz |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Public Health Agencies worldwide (World Health Organization, United States Centers for Disease Prevention & Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, etc.) are recommending hand washing with soap and water for preventing the dissemination of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections. In this review, we have discussed the mechanisms of decontamination by soap and water (involving both removal and inactivation), described the contribution of the various components of formulated soaps to performance as cleansers and to pathogen inactivation, explained why adherence to recommended contact times is critical, evaluated the possible contribution of water temperature to inactivation, discussed the advantages of antimicrobial soaps vs. basic soaps, discussed the differences between use of soap and water vs. alcohol-based hand sanitizers for hand decontamination, and evaluated the limitations and advantages of different methods of drying hands following washing. While the paper emphasizes data applicable to SARS-CoV-2, the topics discussed are germane to most emerging and re-emerging enveloped and non-enveloped viruses and many other pathogen types. |
first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:34:24Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-a71db3d14acb4e589637d3390c98562d |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2167-8359 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:34:24Z |
publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
record_format | Article |
series | PeerJ |
spelling | doaj.art-a71db3d14acb4e589637d3390c98562d2023-12-03T11:01:39ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592021-09-019e1204110.7717/peerj.12041Soap, water, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): an ancient handwashing strategy for preventing dissemination of a novel virusM. Khalid Ijaz0Raymond W. Nims1Sarah de Szalay2Joseph R. Rubino3Global Research & Development for Lysol and Dettol, Reckitt Benckiser LLC, Montvale, New Jersey, United StatesRMC Pharmaceutical Solutions, Inc., Longmont, Colorado, United StatesGlobal Research & Development for Lysol and Dettol, Reckitt Benckiser LLC, Montvale, New Jersey, United StatesGlobal Research & Development for Lysol and Dettol, Reckitt Benckiser LLC, Montvale, New Jersey, United StatesPublic Health Agencies worldwide (World Health Organization, United States Centers for Disease Prevention & Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, etc.) are recommending hand washing with soap and water for preventing the dissemination of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections. In this review, we have discussed the mechanisms of decontamination by soap and water (involving both removal and inactivation), described the contribution of the various components of formulated soaps to performance as cleansers and to pathogen inactivation, explained why adherence to recommended contact times is critical, evaluated the possible contribution of water temperature to inactivation, discussed the advantages of antimicrobial soaps vs. basic soaps, discussed the differences between use of soap and water vs. alcohol-based hand sanitizers for hand decontamination, and evaluated the limitations and advantages of different methods of drying hands following washing. While the paper emphasizes data applicable to SARS-CoV-2, the topics discussed are germane to most emerging and re-emerging enveloped and non-enveloped viruses and many other pathogen types.https://peerj.com/articles/12041.pdfSARS-CoV-2Hierarchy of susceptibility to inactivationInfection prevention and controlHand disinfectionHand sanitizersAnti-infective agents |
spellingShingle | M. Khalid Ijaz Raymond W. Nims Sarah de Szalay Joseph R. Rubino Soap, water, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): an ancient handwashing strategy for preventing dissemination of a novel virus PeerJ SARS-CoV-2 Hierarchy of susceptibility to inactivation Infection prevention and control Hand disinfection Hand sanitizers Anti-infective agents |
title | Soap, water, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): an ancient handwashing strategy for preventing dissemination of a novel virus |
title_full | Soap, water, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): an ancient handwashing strategy for preventing dissemination of a novel virus |
title_fullStr | Soap, water, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): an ancient handwashing strategy for preventing dissemination of a novel virus |
title_full_unstemmed | Soap, water, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): an ancient handwashing strategy for preventing dissemination of a novel virus |
title_short | Soap, water, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): an ancient handwashing strategy for preventing dissemination of a novel virus |
title_sort | soap water and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 sars cov 2 an ancient handwashing strategy for preventing dissemination of a novel virus |
topic | SARS-CoV-2 Hierarchy of susceptibility to inactivation Infection prevention and control Hand disinfection Hand sanitizers Anti-infective agents |
url | https://peerj.com/articles/12041.pdf |
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