FMCG giant Reckitt Benckiser (RB), the manufacturer of Lysol and Dettol, has publicly denounced the internal administration of disinfectants as a treatment for COVID-19 after it received a spate of inquiries from consumers, prompted by a statement from US president Donald Trump.
At a Coronavirus taskforce briefing on Thursday, Trump suggested that disinfectants could potentially be used to treat the deadly virus, but later went on to say he was speaking “sarcastically”.
RB released a statement on Friday saying that “under no circumstance” should its products be injected or ingested.
“As a global leader in health and hygiene products, we must be clear that under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion or any other route). As with all products, our disinfectant and hygiene products should only be used as intended and in line with usage guidelines,” the company said.
According to The New York Times, health hotlines in Maryland were flooded with Americans calling to inquire about Trump’s statement, which suggested that injecting the body with disinfectants such as bleach or isopropyl alcohol could help beat the virus.
“Then I see the disinfectant knocks it out in a minute, one minute, and is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that,” Trump stated at the briefing according to CNN.
On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration warned that using the medicines used for Lupus and Malaria, hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, are not proven as a cure yet for Coronavirus despite repeated recommendations from Trump.
