Dettol comes clean on Coronavirus 'cure' claims

Durban - Consumer goods company, Reckitt Benckiser, said they have not had access to the latest strain of the Coronavirus and were not in a position to confirm their products' effectiveness against the new strain. 

The British multinational consumer goods company was reacting to images of a description from a Dettol bottle that went viral following news of the virus outbreak.

According to the description on the bottle, Dettol kills E.Coli, Sammonella, MRSA, Rotavirus, flu virus (H1N1), cold viruses (human Coronavirus and RSV) etc.

According to a statement, Reckitt Benckiser (RB) has become aware of speculation about Dettol products and the novel 2019-nCoV coronavirus (Covid-19). 

"As this is an emerging outbreak, RB, like all manufacturers, doesn't yet have access to the new virus (Covid-19) for testing and, as a result, is not yet in a position to confirm levels of effectiveness against the new strain," the company said. 

"Some of our global products have been tested against other coronaviruses (such as MERS CoV and SARS CoV) and have been found to kill those. Although Covid-19 is a new strain, this virus is similar to other coronaviruses. We continue to work with our partners to ensure that we have the latest understanding of the virus and its route of transmission. We will test our product range as soon as health authorities make the strain available," Reckitt Benckiser added.  

The company said as a global leader in health and hygiene, they continue to play their part in combating and containing the outbreak of the virus. 

"To this end, we have donated the equivalent of R107 million in cash and products to help mobilise medical staff to treat those affected and provide soap and hand sanitizers to hospitals in Wuhan to help contain the further spread of the virus," the company said. 

According to the latest reports, the virus has claimed more than 1000 lives. It is believed to have started in the Chinese city of Wuhan. 

The Mercury