Efficacy of biocide-based sanitizer in daily use during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a biocide-based disinfectant against pathogenic flora on the skin of the hands. Methods: This is a prospective study of 30 participants from the general population. The questionnaire, interview data and results of two swab analysis were collected. All the data were statistically analyzed. Results: The results demonstrated that after using a biocide-based disinfectant, the number of bacteria colonies on the participants’ skin decreased or completely disappeared, and a significant correlation was found between the number of colonies before and after disinfection. In case of coagulase-negative staphylococcus the number of colony – forming units (CFU) significantly decreased [p < 0,001]. Also, Bacillus ssp. and Acinetobacter spp. were also found in 17.6% (n = 3) of the participants after the disinfection, however the number of the colonies was significantly smaller [p = 0,001; p = 0,008]. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that a biocide-based disinfectant has high effectiveness against Gram-positive, Gram-negative, as well as fungal pathogens.