Evaluation of the Quality and Antibacterial Efficacy of Some Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers Sold in Benue South, Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33003/fjs-2026-1012-5567Keywords:
Alcohol-based, hand sanitizers, antibacterialAbstract
Hospital and community-acquired infections are a serious problem worldwide often leading to increased deaths, costs and other problems. Hand hygiene has been promoted as the most important way to prevent these infections. In this study, the alcohol content and antibacterial efficacy of some popular hand sanitizers sold in Benue South, Nigeria were determined. Gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry was used for the qualitative and quantitative determination of alcohol while the well-variant of the agar diffusion test was used to evaluate the efficacy of the products against Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The result of the study showed the use of two toxic contaminants (1-propanol and ethyl methanol) in some samples. The study also found many of the alcohol-based hand sanitizers to have far less percentage alcohol compared to their label claims and acceptable standards. Though most of the hand sanitizers showed strong anti-bacterial activity, the result also demonstrate that not all alcohol-based hand sanitizers possess the same antibacterial effectiveness. Hence, it is imperative for regulatory bodies to ensure compliance from manufacturers of alcohol-based hand sanitizers.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Vihiior Burbwa, Ekirigwe Ogah, Christopher Nyerere Abah, Folashade Omotehinwa, Benjamin Abu Emmanuel, Yikura Lawan, Augustine Ekpo, Adanu Jea Jea
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