Disinfection booths could damage your lungs — experts

Oct 25, 2020

"These booths have small metals that are used as preservatives. When they accumulate in the body over time and the body can no longer destroy them, they get deposited in the lungs."

In the race to try and stop the spread of COVID-19, the Government and private institutions have invested heavily in walk-through sanitising booths for people accessing their premises.

However, the health ministry is voicing alarm that the technology could be leading to more harm than good, with potential risks to the health of those who inhale the alcohol-based spray.

Dr Henry Mwebesa, the director General of Health Services, said the booths do not provide significant benefit in the fight against COVID-19, yet prolonged and continuous exposure to the alcohol substance is likely to cause health complications.

"We do not encourage spraying of people from head to toe. It is wrong. We are actually writing a circular in regard to that," he said during a webinar on the increasing COVID-19 community infections amid reopening of schools, borders and elections.

The webinar, which took place on Thursday, was organised by the Centre for Constitutional Governance (CCG) to, among other things, get an update on the status of COVID-19 spread in the country and the mitigation efforts.

Mwebesa said body spraying exposes the eyes, nose and mouth to the alcohol, which in the long run can become dangerous to the body.

"The infection is in the lungs. The spray does not reach the lungs, it just disinfects the clothes. The best thing to do is to cover your nose and mouth so that you do not release the infection to other people. There is no point in spraying the whole body," he said.

Mwebesa also warned schools against spraying students and advised them to use soap and water, as well as encouraging the wearing of face masks, which he said is the most effective preventive measure.

The health ministry also recently stated that spraying the body using alcohol or chlorine can be harmful to clothes or mucous membranes (ie eyes, mouth).

When COVID-19 started, governments and health experts encouraged the use of alcohol-based hand rubs with the alcohol content being at least 60%, but institutions, such as hotels, government offices and other private facilities took it a notch higher by purchasing the walk-through spray booths, which experts now say are dangerous to human health.

Hospital care In his presentation, Mwebesa said community infection spread has become fast.

A total of 77 districts recorded cases in the last two weeks, with Kampala, Masaka, Gulu and Karamoja sub-region registering the highest numbers.

He said the health system has reached a point where it can only admit the severe and critical cases, noting that the ministry has now gazetted all the treatment centres for only such cases.

Mwebesa stated that this is a mitigation measure aimed at protecting the health system from being overwhelmed, channelling resources to managing the severely ill to ensure quality care and minimise mortality, as well as prioritise hospital beds for the vulnerable population.

"Hospital care is preserved for the moderately, severely and critically ill case-patients, but we shall retain one auxiliary centre — Namboole Stadium, to be used for isolation and management of mild cases," he said.

Uganda's COVID-19 accumulative case tally has hit the 11,000 mark after 108 cases were registered from tests done on October 21.

This means that within seven days (October 15-21), Uganda registered 972 cases of COVID-19. With the 108 new cases, Uganda's cumulative case tally, as of today, is 11,041, while the deaths stand at 98 and recoveries at 7,210.

The country so far has 3,831 active cases. It should be noted that the ministry stopped mass testing of people for COVID-19, choosing to test only those who show signs and symptoms and contacts who have comorbidities.

As of October 19, Uganda had a total of 4,867 case of alerts, 723 of which were health workers, 679 returnees and 696 truck drivers.

Out of the 98 deaths, 70 died in government facilities, while 28 were in private facilities.

Mwebesa noted that this fast spread of the virus was expected, but warned that if Ugandans remain complacent, then the country will end up in a much bigger problem.

Dr Monica Musenero, a senior presidential advisor on epidemics, expressed worry over the quick spread of infection in the communities, noting that had people strictly adhered to the guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOPs), this spread could have been slower and manageable.

"With the lifting of restrictions, the community has quickly disconnected from the measures. They have become tired of social distancing, politics has come in, then we have the young population that thinks they won't suffer much from COVID," she noted.

Musenero said this is compounded by the social media community that does not take the COVID-19 communication seriously, thereby making enforcement efforts futile.

Human rights violations

However, Sarah Bireete, the executive director CCG, said the complacency was driven by the human rights violations orchestrated by the enforcers of these measures during the lockdown.

She said the lockdown situation created COVID fatigue about the SOPs and people, especially in the informal sector, were placed in a situation where they had to choose between hunger and COVID.

Dangers of machine sanitisers

Dr Charles Olaro, the director clinical services at the health ministry, said research has found that long-time inhaling of the substance used in these booths to spray people has detrimental effects on health. These, he said, can range from causing allergic reactions to chronic obstructive airway disease.

Chronic obstructive airway disease is a type of obstructive lung disease characterised by long-term breathing problems and poor airflow.

Its major symptoms include shortness of breath and cough with sputum production. Mayo Clinic says people with the disease are at increased risk of developing heart disease, lung cancer and other health conditions.

Olaro said one such disease is fibrosis, which occurs when the lungs become damaged and scarred.

"These booths have small metals that are used as preservatives. When they accumulate in the body over time and the body can no longer destroy them, they get deposited in the lungs. The lungs will then become stiff and unable to expand well," he said.

Olaro noted that it is at this point the person starts developing breathing difficulties.

He noted that the ministry is also not privy to the contents of the substances used in the booths, but said some of the cheapest sanitising products that are likely to be used include chlorine and hydrogen peroxide.

Science shows that inhalation or ingestion of hydrogen peroxide can cause gastric irritation and distension, an accumulation of fluid in the lungs, unconsciousness and respiratory arrest.

When the concentration is high in the body, one can suffer a stroke or heart attack.

"Science has shown that COVID-19 is not in the clothes. The key to fighting the virus is to wash hands with soap and water, sanitise hands, wear masks, avoid touching the face and social distance," he said.

Olaro noted that the quantity of alcohol used in the hand sanitisers is small, but advised that when it comes to children in schools, its use should be supervised.

He revealed that the ministry has already guided the airport authorities to remove the booths.

Dr Mwebesa said the booths also give false hope of safety to citizens yet they have no use in the prevention of COVID-19 infection.

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