Attacks on Antibacterial Soaps? Nothing New to Report
Beneficial Products Continue to Play a Role in Daily Hygiene Routines, Says SDA
Aug. 21, 2007 06:17 PM
WASHINGTON, DC -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 08/21/07 -- The latest criticism of the use of
beneficial antibacterial soap products provides no new information,
according to The Soap and Detergent Association (SDA).
SDA expressed disappointment that the marketing of an article in Clinical
Infectious Diseases -- summarizing previously reported studies on
antibacterial soaps -- has been repackaged into a broad-based attack on
products that are used safely and effectively by millions of people every
single day.
"The fact is, studies presented to the Food and Drug
Administration have shown bacteria reduction on the hands from the use of
antibacterial soaps," said Brian Sansoni, SDA Vice President of
Communication. "These products play an important role in daily hygiene
routines -- but they should not serve as the only means of infection
control.
"Additionally, there are numerous examples of official regulations,
guidelines or recommendations for the use of antibacterial soaps in general
population settings or situations."
What is most disappointing is the authors' revisiting attempts to link
real-life use of these products to antibiotic resistance -- a claim that is
refuted by one of their own previous studies.
Their research, published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) journal Emerging Infectious Diseases (October 2005), found that the
use of antibacterial cleaning products does not lead to a "significant
increase in antimicrobial drug resistance after one year, nor did it have
an effect on bacterial susceptibility to triclosan." You can find the
research paper online at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol11no10/04-1276.htm.
This and numerous other scientific reviews have shown
there is no real world evidence linking the use of topical antimicrobial
products to antibiotic resistance.
"Continuing to hype this hypothesis detracts attention from the major
contributor to antibiotic resistance: the over-prescription of antibiotic
drugs," added Sansoni.
Research published in a
supplement to the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy in August 2007
reported that antibiotics are still being prescribed "for up to 80% of
cases of sore throat, otitis media, upper respiratory tract infections, and
sinusitis, despite the fact that official guidance warns against this
practice."
(Science Daily, July 27, 2007)
"Consumers can continue to use antibacterial soaps with confidence, as they
already do on a daily basis," said Sansoni.
Information on the safety and efficacy of antibacterial hygiene and
cleaning products is available online on SDA's website, at
www.cleaning101.com/antibacterial.
The Soap and Detergent Association (www.cleaning101.com), the Home of the
U.S. Cleaning Product and Oleochemical Industries(SM), is the non-profit
trade association representing manufacturers of household, industrial, and
institutional cleaning products, their ingredients and finished packaging;
oleochemical producers; and chemical distributors to the cleaning product
industry. SDA members produce more than 90 percent of the cleaning products
marketed in the U.S. The SDA is located at 1500 K Street, NW, Suite 300,
Washington, DC 20005.
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