TOKYO: The Japan-based health research firm has revealed that ethanol-based disinfectants are least effective in destroying the influenza virus.
It is not true that hand sanitizers instantly kill germs, even those that land you with a cold or flu. While some germs are killed with quick use of hand sanitizers, but, the ones carrying the influenza virus stay on.
As per the latest research published in the journal, disinfectants cannot kill all the germs as the mucus stays on a person’s fingers. For testing the hypothesis, the researchers dabbed the participant’s hands with IAV-infected wet mucus.
“The physical properties of the mucus protect the virus from inactivation,” said Ryohei Hirose, a physician and molecular gastroenterologist at the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine in Japan, in a press release. “Until the mucus has completely dried, infectious IAV can remain on the hands and fingers, even after appropriate antiseptic hand rubbing.”
This virus may take up to five minutes or more to dry off from the skin, which means in those five minutes you have a high chance of catching the flu or transferring it to someone else. Once the mucus is dried, it can be disinfected with any hand sanitizer.
The US-based Center for Disease Control and Prevention has urged people to wash their hands with soap and water instead of using disinfectants, to alleviate the chances of catching flu, or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
READ MORE: Exercising can protect you from getting sick: Study
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