gms | German Medical Science

Sir, the recent article by Steinhauer et al. [1] is very interesting. Steinhauer et al. reported that “primary packaging material and use were not found to pose a significant contamination risk as far as bacterial spores are concerned” [1]. In fact, the contamination of hand disinfectants and skin antiseptics can be expected. In tropical world where the climate is proper for the growth of pathogen, the problem might be more serious. The poorer quality control process in manufacturing steps is also a very important problem. In a report from Taiwan, the contamination of alcohol used in hospital due to bacterial contamination from the manufacturer could be seen [2]. Additionally, when one focuses interest on disinfectants and antiseptics, one might forget to consider on water, pipeline and tap contamination.

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.