Emergence of Covid-19 Leads to Significant Gap in Supply and Demand for Alcohol-based Antiseptics
Antiseptics belong to a class of medicines called antimicrobial agents. The term ‘antiseptic’ is derived from the word “sepsis,” which refers to the presence of live microorganisms in the blood and/or the tissues of the body. Commonly used antiseptic groups include alcohols, quaternary ammonium compounds, chlorhexidine and other diguanides, antibacterial dyes, chlorine and hypochlorites, inorganic iodine compounds, metals, peroxides and permanganates, halogenated phenol derivatives and quinolone derivatives.
Antiseptics are used to
eliminate microorganisms on the skin and mucous membranes. They can be used in
the treatment of bacterial infections and to reduce the possibility of
infection, sepsis, or putrefaction. For example, citric acid has the ability to
reduce bacterial endotoxin, specifically Porphyromonas gingivalis. Use of
antiseptics in veterinary dentistry and oral surgery helps reduce the number of
bacteria in the oral cavity prior to and during a procedure. They are however,
not recommended for use in superficial wound.
Povidone-iodine (PVI)
is an antiseptic used for skin disinfection before and after surgery. Recent
studies have found that chlorhexidine gluconate and denatured alcohol can offer
better ooutcome than any formulation of povidone-iodine. Alcoholic
chlorhexidine gluconate can significantly reduce the risk of infection in
certain types of surgery when compared to PVI.
Iodine-based nasal
antiseptics are used in the treatment of conditions such as inflammation of the
sinuses and nasal cavity. In a recent study, nasal antiseptics were found
effective against the novel coronavirus. The result was deducted from a
laboratory experiment and the viability of the approach on human subjects is
yet to be tested.
Emergence of Covid-19
has significantly increased the demand for antiseptics. In
Japan, gargling solution was out of stock as it was suggested it could help
fight coronavirus. The pandemic has thus resulted in big gap in supply and
demand for alcohol-based antiseptic products. This has prompted several
governments to invest in production of ethanol, a substance used in the
production of alcoholic antiseptics. For instance, in March 2020, the Ministry
of Industry, Trade, Investment, and Digital Economy, Government of Morocco,
announced to start producing ethanol.
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