A survey study on disinfectants use among egyptians for corona virus protection “knowledge, practice and toxicity”

During COVID-19 pandemic; regular use of disinfectant become a must leading some times to misuse and many cases of toxicities appear. To examine toxicity correlates of Egyptian disinfectant misuse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Self-report online survey conducted between; September 2^nd to September 16^th, 2020 of Adults from the Egypt recruited via social media. Outcomes included Socio-demographic and baseline characteristics of the participants (Age, Sex, Educational level, Residence, type of Work, Work require direct contact with people, frequency and type disinfectant use), Knowledge and practice of the studied participants about utilization of disinfectant during the COVID 19 pandemic, Prevalence of toxicity with disinfectant, mode of exposure and manifestations among the participants during COVID 19 pandemic, of toxicity symptoms duration and attitude of management. Correlates are risk factors for toxicity exposure, satisfaction factors of practice and knowledge of disinfectants utilization. The participants included 558 adults (mean=30.9, 73.3% female). Most of participants show satisfactory knowledge 64.3% and practice 84.6% of disinfectant utilization during the pandemic. Disinfectant toxicity occurred in 31.5% mainly through skin contact 40.9% and inhalation 37.5%. Multiple respiratory 93% and dermal 83% were the main symptoms of toxicity. The toxicity symptoms continue for hours 30.7% with 50% home management without consultation. Female sex, regular use of disinfectant and bad ventilation were risk factors for toxicity exposure.

Public messaging should continue to emphasize avoidance of high-risk practices such as unsafe preparation of cleaning and disinfectant solutions and inhalation or ingestion of cleaners and disinfectants with that message to prevent transmission of COVID 19 in household settings.