2021-11-03 02:22:41

Tips on choosing right disinfectant to fight viruses

Copyright & credited by New Straits Times
https://www.nst.com.my/opinion/letters/2021/10/735648/tips-choosing-right-disinfectant-fight-viruses

Malaysia's National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) and the United States' Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued guidelines to help consumers choose disinfectant products to combat Covid-19.

The EPA established an accelerated evaluation process for items seeking to be included on the EPA's N List: Disinfectants for Coronavirus.

The EPA has issued and kept the N-List updated, enabling the timely and effective identification of new disinfectant products that fulfil EPA's requirements. Likewise, NPRA has launched a separate category under surface disinfectants as we work to reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission.

The application is separated into three sections: usage site, contact time and active component. NPRA may consider expediting the evaluation of novel active chemicals or new applications for registered active compounds (fogging and electrostatic sprayers).

How should we choose a disinfectant to eradicate viruses? Every EPA-registered disinfectant in the US includes a "kill" claim on the package's labelling or containers' surface, which outlines which pathogens it is meant to kill.

So, selecting the right disinfectant is critical. To safeguard human health, a disinfectant known to eradicate pathogens and microorganisms thought to be on a surface must be applied.

When choosing a disinfectant that is efficient against a particular pathogen, buyers should understand the basics of disinfectant labelling, including active components, inert compounds, warning remarks and effectiveness.

There are hundreds of professional-grade disinfectants and sanitisers. Selecting the right product may be difficult. Working with a reliable and experienced janitorial supplier is critical in these circumstances.

To ensure that disinfectants are used safely and effectively, the recommended dilution and contact time has to be maintained, and the surface should be visibly moist throughout the duration.

For instance, the disinfectant must remain on the table for around 60 seconds without drying when disinfecting the table.

This indicates that workers should have sprayed a few tables with disinfectant before returning to the first one to clean it. The disinfectant must be reapplied if it dries.

Consumers could be misled by users' testimonials or reviews when it comes to picking disinfectants.
A check on the mobile application of List N Tool: Covid-19 Disinfectants (cfpub.epa.gov/wizards/disinfectants/) might help you find products that might be more affordable and efficacious and yet offer a better safety profile for long-term exposure.
 
When choosing disinfectants and sanitisers, in particular, these tools may be valuable because they give fact-based recommendations that help buyers make the correct choice.

Chooi Wen Han

Associate professor

Dr Long Ming

Kuala Lumpur

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