Telangana: Mad rush for disinfection kiosks, expert says no to bleaching agent

HYDERABAD: Disinfection tunnels are now in great demand from government offices to gated communities. However, health experts have a word of caution on using sodium hypochlorite as a disinfectant. They claim sodium hypochlorite, popularly known as bleaching powder, is harmful to humans and instead suggest use of only WHO-approved disinfectants.
Several companies have joined the bandwagon to set up disinfectant tunnels.DGP and police commissioner offices are among the first set of clients for these companies.
Dr Vijay Gopal of S3V Vascular Technologies said, "Disinfection tunnels are enclosed chambers with entry/exit point to ensure maximum coverage of the disinfectant aerosol (average size of 20 microns) on any surface. This will be an additional precaution to frequent hand wash, not touching the face with your hands and maintaining good hygiene."
"Several gated communities are approaching us. Our first preference is to set up the kiosks for frontline staff like medical authorities and police. We are also going to set up the disinfection tunnels at all private hospitals soon. At the Telangana DGP office, to sanitise 200 people a day, it costs 1.2 lakh. So far, we have installed tunnels at offices of both Andhra and Telangana DGPs, Rachakonda and Vijayawada police commissionarates," he added.
Rachakonda police commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat said, "We have installed a safe tunnel for disinfection. The tunnel has been sponsored by a donor."
"Sodium hypochlorite even in low concentration is not recommended for usage on humans. It has to be used only for cleaning surfaces, but not humans. It is banned in the US and Europe. It can be hazardous if used with other chemical as well," Dr Vijay Gopal said.
"The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has already released a list of sanitisers and disinfectants that can be used. The dilutions of these should be done only by qualified personnel. A few examples are chlorhexidine, ethanol 70% and surgical spirit. All these have to be formulated as per recommendations of regulatory bodies and WHO," he added.
P Damoda Rao, a resident of Vaishnavi Towers in Sainikpuri said, "We are working on setting up a disinfection tunnel. The outer layer can be built by anyone, but what is important are the sprayers and chemicals to be used."