Monitoring Quality of Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers Used in Johannesburg Area During the Covid‐19 Pandemic.

Abstract Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (CoViD-19), the World Health Organization has recommended that, in the absence of soap and water, alcohol-based hand sanitizer can be used to prevent the transmission of coronaviruses. Unfortunately, many media reports indicate that majority of current alcohol-based hand sanitizers are substandard and some contain potentially toxic ingredients. The study aimed to identify sanitizers used in the Johannesburg area that do not contain the WHO-recommended alcohol concentration of at least 70% propanol or 60% ethanol, and contain traces of toxic ingredients. Hand sanitizers were randomly collected from various traders around Johannesburg. The samples were analyzed using Agilent Auto sampler coupled to a gas chromatograph utilizing flame ionisation detection. Of the 94 different hand sanitizers collected, three preparations were found to contain no alcohol, whereas the rest contained either ethanol or 2-propanol or a combination of the two. Of the alcohol-containing sanitizers, 37 (41%) contained less than 60% v/v alcohol. Ethyl acetate, isobutanol and other non-recommended alcohols (methanol, 1-propanol and 3-methyl-butanol) were also identified. Consumers are therefore warned that among the many brands of hand sanitizer found around Johannesburg, there are some substandard preparations and some that contain traces of toxic ingredients.