The Critical Role of Personal Care Formulations in Infection Control: Sustaining Preventive Hygiene Practices for COVID-19 and Future Outbreaks

Main Article Content

Sayandip Mukherjee Harshinie W. Jayasekera Carol K. Vincent Michael Hoptroff Ashish Shrikant Yekhe Timothy Tobery

Abstract

The emergence and spread of a novel coronavirus designated as SARS-CoV-2 in late 2019 undeniably precipitated the greatest public health disaster of this new millennium. In absence of an available vaccine or virus-specific anti-viral drug, global health authorities issued several public advisories at the beginning of the pandemic and recommended mitigation measures based on the accumulating evidence and growing knowledge of the spread of this respiratory virus largely through airborne droplets and fomites. The recommended measures emphasized practicing respiratory, hand, and surface hygiene to break the chain of infection and reduce transmission of the virus. As a result of these recommendations, consumer products such as soap bars, liquid cleansers, alcohol-based hand sanitizers, oral rinses, and surface cleaners, in addition to masks (surgical, N95, etc) became the most sought-after commodities in markets across the globe. Beyond the public health recommendations, it was incumbent upon the manufacturers of such consumer products to substantiate their product efficacy against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and later variants as they emerged, to ensure that the public confidence in the effectiveness of these products was not misplaced.  In this article we will review the standard test methodologies and their scientific robustness to determine virucidal efficacy, as well as their relevance to consumer usage; discuss the contributory ingredients in each class of personal care formulations and their mechanisms of virucidal action; and establish the importance of the fully formulated products to ensure they are efficacious under consumer habit-oriented usage. Additionally, we will highlight the impact of hand, body, and oral hygiene practices and compliance in infection control for COVID-19 and their relevance for future outbreaks. Last but not the least, we will provide an overview of the existing regulatory challenges for claiming virucidal benefits from personal care formulations and propose ways in which opportunities to disclose proven benefits of these formulations would be beneficial to the public at large in sustaining efforts towards personal hygiene practices for infection prevention.

Article Details

How to Cite
MUKHERJEE, Sayandip et al. The Critical Role of Personal Care Formulations in Infection Control: Sustaining Preventive Hygiene Practices for COVID-19 and Future Outbreaks. Medical Research Archives, [S.l.], v. 10, n. 10, oct. 2022. ISSN 2375-1924. Available at: <https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/3186>. Date accessed: 21 nov. 2024. doi: https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v10i10.3186.
Section
Review Articles

References

1. McKee M, Stuckler D. If the world fails to protect the economy, COVID-19 will damage health not just now but also in the future. Nat Med. May 2020;26(5):640-642. doi:10.1038/s41591-020-0863-y
2. Pilkington V, Keestra SM, Hill A. Global COVID-19 Vaccine Inequity: Failures in the First Year of Distribution and Potential Solutions for the Future. Front Public Health. 2022;10:821117. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2022.821117
3. Anderson RM, Vegvari C, Truscott J, Collyer BS. Challenges in creating herd immunity to SARS-CoV-2 infection by mass vaccination. Lancet. Nov 21 2020;396(10263):1614-1616. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32318-7
4. Singh J, Pandit P, McArthur AG, Banerjee A, Mossman K. Evolutionary trajectory of SARS-CoV-2 and emerging variants. Virol J. Aug 13 2021;18(1):166. doi:10.1186/s12985-021-01633-w
5. Solis Arce JS, Warren SS, Meriggi NF, et al. COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and hesitancy in low- and middle-income countries. Nat Med. Aug 2021;27(8):1385-1394. doi:10.1038/s41591-021-01454-y
6. Meyerowitz EA, Richterman A, Gandhi RT, Sax PE. Transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Ann Intern Med. Jul 2021;174(7):1037. doi:10.7326/L21-0166
7. Talic S, Shah S, Wild H, et al. Effectiveness of public health measures in reducing the incidence of covid-19, SARS-CoV-2 transmission, and covid-19 mortality: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ. Nov 17 2021;375:e068302. doi:10.1136/bmj-2021-068302
8. Chiu NC, Chi H, Tai YL, et al. Impact of Wearing Masks, Hand Hygiene, and Social Distancing on Influenza, Enterovirus, and All-Cause Pneumonia During the Coronavirus Pandemic: Retrospective National Epidemiological Surveillance Study. J Med Internet Res. Aug 20 2020;22(8):e21257. doi:10.2196/21257
9. Xu H, Zhong L, Deng J, et al. High expression of ACE2 receptor of 2019-nCoV on the epithelial cells of oral mucosa. Int J Oral Sci. Feb 24 2020;12(1):8. doi:10.1038/s41368-020-0074-x
10. To KK, Tsang OT, Yip CC, et al. Consistent Detection of 2019 Novel Coronavirus in Saliva. Clin Infect Dis. Jul 28 2020;71(15):841-843. doi:10.1093/cid/ciaa149
11. Azzi L, Carcano G, Gianfagna F, et al. Saliva is a reliable tool to detect SARS-CoV-2. J Infect. Jul 2020;81(1):e45-e50. doi:10.1016/j.jinf.2020.04.005
12. Fennelly KP. Particle sizes of infectious aerosols: implications for infection control. Lancet Respir Med. Sep 2020;8(9):914-924. doi:10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30323-4
13. Li Y, Ren B, Peng X, et al. Saliva is a non-negligible factor in the spread of COVID-19. Mol Oral Microbiol. Aug 2020;35(4):141-145. doi:10.1111/omi.12289
14. Singh S. Public Oral Health Care During COVID-19: Time for Reflection and Action. Front Med (Lausanne). 2021;8:610450. doi:10.3389/fmed.2021.610450
15. Mosler HJ. A systematic approach to behavior change interventions for the water and sanitation sector in developing countries: a conceptual model, a review, and a guideline. Int J Environ Health Res. 2012;22(5):431-49. doi:10.1080/09603123.2011.650156
16. Seimetz E, Boyayo AM, Mosler HJ. The Influence of Contextual and Psychosocial Factors on Handwashing. Am J Trop Med Hyg. Jun 1 2016;94(6):1407-17. doi:10.4269/ajtmh.15-0657
17. Park JH, Cheong HK, Son DY, Kim SU, Ha CM. Perceptions and behaviors related to hand hygiene for the prevention of H1N1 influenza transmission among Korean university students during the peak pandemic period. BMC Infect Dis. Jul 28 2010;10:222. doi:10.1186/1471-2334-10-222
18. Tang CS, Wong CY. An outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome: predictors of health behaviors and effect of community prevention measures in Hong Kong, China. Am J Public Health. Nov 2003;93(11):1887-8. doi:10.2105/ajph.93.11.1887
19. Kärber G. Beitrag zur kollektiven Behandlung pharmakologischer Reihenversuche. Archiv f experiment Pathol u Pharmakol. 1931;162:480-483. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01863914
20. Gilbert P, Moore LE. Cationic antiseptics: diversity of action under a common epithet. J Appl Microbiol. 2005;99(4):703-15. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2672.2005.02664.x
21. McDonnell G, Russell AD. Antiseptics and disinfectants: activity, action, and resistance. Clin Microbiol Rev. Jan 1999;12(1):147-79. doi:10.1128/CMR.12.1.147
22. Ijaz MK, Sattar SA, Rubino JR, Nims RW, Gerba CP. Combating SARS-CoV-2: leveraging microbicidal experiences with other emerging/re-emerging viruses. PeerJ. 2020;8:e9914. doi:10.7717/peerj.9914
23. Kampf G, Bruggemann Y, Kaba HEJ, et al. Potential sources, modes of transmission and effectiveness of prevention measures against SARS-CoV-2. J Hosp Infect. Dec 2020;106(4):678-697. doi:10.1016/j.jhin.2020.09.022
24. O'Donnell VB, Thomas D, Stanton R, et al. Potential Role of Oral Rinses Targeting the Viral Lipid Envelope in SARS-CoV-2 Infection. Function (Oxf). 2020;1(1):zqaa002. doi:10.1093/function/zqaa002
25. Mukherjee S, Vincent CK, Jayasekera HW, Yekhe AS. Antiviral efficacy of personal care formulations against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2. Infect Dis Health. Feb 2021;26(1):63-66. doi:10.1016/j.idh.2020.09.003
26. Meister TL, Fortmann J, Todt D, et al. Comparable Environmental Stability and Disinfection Profiles of the Currently Circulating SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern B.1.1.7 and B.1.351. J Infect Dis. Aug 2 2021;224(3):420-424. doi:10.1093/infdis/jiab260
27. Ijaz MK, Nims RW, McKinney J. SARS-CoV-2 mutational variants may represent a new challenge to society, but not to the virucidal armamentarium. J Hosp Infect. Jun 2021;112:121-123. doi:10.1016/j.jhin.2021.03.013
28. Mukherjee S VC, Jayasekera HW, Yekhe AS. Personal care formulations demonstrate virucidal efficacy against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern: Implications for hand hygiene and public health. PLOS Global Public Health. 2022;2(2)doi:doi:10.1371/journal.pgph.0000228
29. Anderson ER, Patterson EI, Richards S, et al. CPC-containing oral rinses inactivate SARS-CoV-2 variants and are active in the presence of human saliva. J Med Microbiol. Feb 2022;71(2)doi:10.1099/jmm.0.001508
30. Munoz-Basagoiti J, Perez-Zsolt D, Leon R, et al. Mouthwashes with CPC Reduce the Infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 Variants In Vitro. J Dent Res. Oct 2021;100(11):1265-1272. doi:10.1177/00220345211029269
31. Komine A, Yamaguchi E, Okamoto N, Yamamoto K. Virucidal activity of oral care products against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. J Oral Maxillofac Surg Med Pathol. Jul 2021;33(4):475-477. doi:10.1016/j.ajoms.2021.02.002
32. Davies K, Buczkowski H, Welch SR, et al. Effective in vitro inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 by commercially available mouthwashes. J Gen Virol. Apr 2021;102(4)doi:10.1099/jgv.0.001578
33. Aiello AE, Larson EL. What is the evidence for a causal link between hygiene and infections? Lancet Infect Dis. Feb 2002;2(2):103-10. doi:10.1016/s1473-3099(02)00184-6
34. Bloomfield SF AA, Cookson B, O'Boyle C, Larson EL. The effectiveness of hand hygiene procedures in reducing the risks of infections in home and community settings including handwashing and alcohol-based hand sanitizers. American Journal of Infection Control. 2007;35(10):S27-S64. doi:doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2007.07.001
35. Hammond B, Ali Y, Fendler E, Dolan M, Donovan S. Effect of hand sanitizer use on elementary school absenteeism. Am J Infect Control. Oct 2000;28(5):340-6. doi:10.1067/mic.2000.107276
36. Nicholson JA, Naeeni M, Hoptroff M, et al. An investigation of the effects of a hand washing intervention on health outcomes and school absence using a randomised trial in Indian urban communities. Trop Med Int Health. Mar 2014;19(3):284-292. doi:10.1111/tmi.12254
37. Ejemot RI, Ehiri JE, Meremikwu MM, Critchley JA. Hand washing for preventing diarrhoea. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. Jan 23 2008;(1):CD004265. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004265.pub2
38. Aiello AE, Coulborn RM, Perez V, Larson EL. Effect of hand hygiene on infectious disease risk in the community setting: a meta-analysis. Am J Public Health. Aug 2008;98(8):1372-81. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2007.124610
39. Freeman MC, Stocks ME, Cumming O, et al. Hygiene and health: systematic review of handwashing practices worldwide and update of health effects. Trop Med Int Health. Aug 2014;19(8):906-16. doi:10.1111/tmi.12339
40. Huang DB, Zhou J. Effect of intensive handwashing in the prevention of diarrhoeal illness among patients with AIDS: a randomized controlled study. J Med Microbiol. May 2007;56(Pt 5):659-663. doi:10.1099/jmm.0.46867-0
41. Rabie T, Curtis V. Handwashing and risk of respiratory infections: a quantitative systematic review. Trop Med Int Health. Mar 2006;11(3):258-67. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3156.2006.01568.x
42. Wang Z, Lapinski M, Quilliam E, Jaykus LA, Fraser A. The effect of hand-hygiene interventions on infectious disease-associated absenteeism in elementary schools: A systematic literature review. Am J Infect Control. Jun 1 2017;45(6):682-689. doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2017.01.018
43. Pittet D, Hugonnet S, Harbarth S, et al. Effectiveness of a hospital-wide programme to improve compliance with hand hygiene. Infection Control Programme. Lancet. Oct 14 2000;356(9238):1307-12. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(00)02814-2
44. Carboneau C, Benge E, Jaco MT, Robinson M. A lean Six Sigma team increases hand hygiene compliance and reduces hospital-acquired MRSA infections by 51%. J Healthc Qual. Jul-Aug 2010;32(4):61-70. doi:10.1111/j.1945-1474.2009.00074.x
45. Lederer JW, Jr., Best D, Hendrix V. A comprehensive hand hygiene approach to reducing MRSA health care-associated infections. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf. Apr 2009;35(4):180-5. doi:10.1016/s1553-7250(09)35024-2
46. Xue X, Mi Z, Wang Z, Pang Z, Liu H, Zhang F. High Expression of ACE2 on Keratinocytes Reveals Skin as a Potential Target for SARS-CoV-2. J Invest Dermatol. Jan 2021;141(1):206-209 e1. doi:10.1016/j.jid.2020.05.087
47. Zhu R, Shi Y, Tan Y, Xiao R. ACE2 Expression on the Keratinocytes and SARS-CoV-2 Percutaneous Transmission: Are they Related? J Invest Dermatol. Jan 2021;141(1):197-198. doi:10.1016/j.jid.2020.09.019
48. Iwasaki A. What reinfections mean for COVID-19. Lancet Infect Dis. Jan 2021;21(1):3-5. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30783-0
49. Chapple IL, Van der Weijden F, Doerfer C, et al. Primary prevention of periodontitis: managing gingivitis. J Clin Periodontol. Apr 2015;42 Suppl 16:S71-6. doi:10.1111/jcpe.12366
50. Tada A, Senpuku H. The Impact of Oral Health on Respiratory Viral Infection. Dent J (Basel). Apr 13 2021;9(4)doi:10.3390/dj9040043
51. Kawamoto M, Tanaka H, Sakurai A, et al. Exploration of correlation of oral hygiene and condition with influenza infection. PLoS One. 2021;16(8):e0254981. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0254981
52. Zuo YY, Uspal WE, Wei T. Airborne Transmission of COVID-19: Aerosol Dispersion, Lung Deposition, and Virus-Receptor Interactions. ACS Nano. Nov 25 2020;doi:10.1021/acsnano.0c08484
53. Stadnytskyi V, Bax CE, Bax A, Anfinrud P. The airborne lifetime of small speech droplets and their potential importance in SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. Jun 2 2020;117(22):11875-11877. doi:10.1073/pnas.2006874117
54. To KK, Tsang OT, Leung WS, et al. Temporal profiles of viral load in posterior oropharyngeal saliva samples and serum antibody responses during infection by SARS-CoV-2: an observational cohort study. Lancet Infect Dis. May 2020;20(5):565-574. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30196-1
55. Prillaman M. How much virus does a person with COVID exhale? New research has answers. Nature. Aug 17 2022;doi:10.1038/d41586-022-02202-z
56. Huang N, Perez P, Kato T, et al. SARS-CoV-2 infection of the oral cavity and saliva. Nat Med. May 2021;27(5):892-903. doi:10.1038/s41591-021-01296-8
57. Lloyd-Jones G MS, Cruvinel Pontes C, Chapple I. The COVID-19 Pathway: A Proposed Oral-Vascular-Pulmonary Route of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and the Importance of Oral Healthcare Measures. . Journal of Oral Medicine and Dental Research 2021;2(1):1-23.
58. Marouf N, Cai W, Said KN, et al. Association between periodontitis and severity of COVID-19 infection: A case-control study. J Clin Periodontol. Apr 2021;48(4):483-491. doi:10.1111/jcpe.13435
59. Kamel AHM, Basuoni A, Salem ZA, AbuBakr N. The impact of oral health status on COVID-19 severity, recovery period and C-reactive protein values. Br Dent J. Feb 24 2021;doi:10.1038/s41415-021-2656-1
60. Kuniavsky M, Lubanetz E, Chinnitz D. Why do we fail complying with hand hygiene recommendations in COVID-19 wards? Intensive Crit Care Nurs. Jul 14 2022:103299. doi:10.1016/j.iccn.2022.103299
61. Liu J, Tong, Y., Li, S., Tian, Z., He L., Zheng J. Compliance with COVID-19-preventive behaviours among employees returning to work in the post-epidemic period. BMC Public Health. 2022;22(369)doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-12709-9
62. Peacock JE, Herrington, David M.,Edelstein, Sharon L.,Seals, Austin L.,Plumb, Ian D. Survey of Adherence with COVID-19 Prevention Behaviors During the 2020 Thanksgiving and Winter Holidays Among Members of the COVID-19 Community Research Partnership. Journal of Community Health. 2022;47(1):71-78.
63. Gillebaart M, Ybema JF, de Ridder DTD. Make it a habit: how habit strength, goal importance and self-control predict hand washing behaviour over time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychol Health. Feb 9 2022:1-19. doi:10.1080/08870446.2022.2036740
64. Banerjee A, Alsan, M.,Breza, E.,Chandrasekhar, A.,Chowdhury, A.,Duflo, E., Goldsmith-Pinkham, P.,Olken, B. Messages on COVID-19 Prevention in India Increased Symptoms Reporting and Adherence to Preventive Behaviors Among 25 Million Recipients with Similar Effects on Non-recipient Members of Their Communities. 2020. NBER Working Papers.
65. Jia X, Ahn S, Carcioppolo N. Measuring information overload and message fatigue toward COVID-19 prevention messages in USA and China. Health Promot Int. Jan 29 2022;doi:10.1093/heapro/daac003
66. Street RL, Jr., Finset A. Two years with COVID-19: New - and old - challenges for health communication research. Patient Educ Couns. Feb 2022;105(2):261-264. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2022.01.006
67. Dzinamarira T, Murewanhema G, Musuka G. Different SARS-CoV-2 variants, same prevention strategies. Public Health Pract (Oxf). Jun 2022;3:100223. doi:10.1016/j.puhip.2021.100223
68. Tidwell JB, Gopalakrishnan A, Lovelady S, et al. Effect of Two Complementary Mass-Scale Media Interventions on Handwashing with Soap among Mothers. J Health Commun. 2019;24(2):203-215. doi:10.1080/10810730.2019.1593554
69. Plohl N, Musil B. Modeling compliance with COVID-19 prevention guidelines: the critical role of trust in science. Psychol Health Med. Jan 2021;26(1):1-12. doi:10.1080/13548506.2020.1772988
70. Horton R. Offline: COVID-19 is not a pandemic. The Lancet. 2020;396(10255):874. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(20)32000-6