On March 14, Rwanda confirmed the first case of Covid-19. Subsequently, the Ministry of Health urged the public to take precautionary measures to prevent further spreading of the virus.
Preventive measures include keeping clean hands by washing them with water and soap, or using hand sanitizers.
Many people, including Eduige Isimbi, a resident of Kicukiro in City of Kigali, decided to go out to look for a hand sanitizer for his family. He headed to a pharmacy in her neighborhood, only to get home and find that it was actually glycerine disguised as hand sanitizer.
"When I got home, as I tried to use it, I don’t know how I realised that the word ‘hand sanitizer’ was written on a paper glued to the bottle covering the word ‘Glycerin’,” she wrote on Twitter.
She added that upon returning the product to the pharmacy for explanation, the pharmacist tried to convince her that "Glycerin can also do what the hand sanitizer does.”
Speaking to The NewTimes, Isimbi acknowledged that she doesn’t know much about hand sanitizers but only knows that they contain alcohol.
"I don’t know much about its composition but I only know that they contain alcohol because you can smell it after using it on hands,” she said.
Alcohol-based hand sanitizer 'sitable for coronavirus'
There are two types of hand sanitizers; alcohol-based and non-alcohol based.
The non-alcohol hand sanitizers contain products such as antiseptic (providone-iodine), cleansing agent ( benzalkonium chloride) or antibacterial (triclosan).
However, for novel coronavirus (COVED-19), non-alcohol based hand sanitizers won’t be of much help. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can be used in case there is no water and soap (which is the most effective way to kill coronavirus).
According to Dr Jean Pierre Munyampundu, a senior lecturer at University of Rwanda and a microbiologist, to kill a virus, at least 70 percent of alcohol is needed.
"A hand sanitizer containing at least 70 per cent of alcohol can be used because that is the amount of alcohol required to denature or kill a virus.”
Rwanda Foods and Drugs Authority (Rwanda FDA) on Sunday released a public notice cautioning merchants against 'taking advantage and sell substandard products or hike the prices' of products, particulary warning against substandard sanitizers on the matrket.
"The manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers of products used in the prevention of spreading of the coronavirus (COVID-19) must stop taking advantage of the prevailing situation and sell substandard products. Those include alcohol-based hand sanitizers which must have at least 70 % v/v concentration in addition to other ingredients,” the notice reads in part.
According to WHO- recommended hand sanitizer formulations, one can either have; Ethanol 80 per cent, Glycerol (to moisturize) 1.45 per cent and Hydrogen peroxide 0.125 per cent, or Isopropyl alcohol 75 per cent, Glycerol 1.45 per cent and Hydrogen peroxide 0.125 per cent, which is clearly indicated on the label.
"Glycerol has been chosen because it is safe and relatively inexpensive. Lowering the percentage of glycerol may be considered to further reduce the stickiness of the handrub,” a part of the recommendations reads.
However, the statement added that other moisture preserving gels alongside glycerol and fragrances may be added as long as they don’t compromise the safety of the products.
"No data are available to assess the suitability of adding gelling agents to WHO-recommended liquid formulations, but this could increase potentially both production difficulties and costs, and may compromise antimicrobial efficacy. The addition of fragrances is not recommended because of the risk of allergic reactions.”
Rwanda FDA bans OXALIS Ltd products
Shortly afterwards, the same institution issued a communiqué recalling hand sanitizers manufactured by OXALIS Limited.
This, the communiquee said, followed complaints from the public and a subsquent investigation by Rwanda FDA, which established that hand sanitizers manufactured by Bugesera District-based OXALIS LTD fall short of minimum quality standards.
The products include, "A 50 ml plastic bottle containing a viscous and transparent liquid with no other information on the label apart from the name of the manufacturer; a 500 ml plastic bottle containing a viscous; transparent liquid with the following ingredients on the label ‘disodium cocoamphodiacetate Methylchloroformthiazolinone Methylisothiazolinone Methylparaben Cocamidopropyt Betaine Polyoxyethylene Alkyl Ether Citric Acid Sodium Chloride Purified Water’ as well as a plastic bottle containing a transparent liquid with no information about the name of the manufacturer or the list of ingredients,” the communique reads in part.
According to the statement, the distribution or use of the incriminated products should stop immediately and be "returned to the manufacturer for proper disposal.”
The authority also urged the public to check basic information on labels "to ensure the quality of products.”