Don’t inject disinfectants, Lysol warns as Trump raises idea
Published:Friday | April 24, 2020 | 9:52 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) — The parent company of Lysol disinfectant warned Friday that its products should not be used internally to treat COVID-19 after President Donald Trump wondered about the prospect during a White House briefing.
Trump noted Thursday that researchers were looking at the effects of disinfectants on the virus and wondered aloud if they could be injected into people, saying the virus “does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that.”
That prompted a strong warning from the maker of disinfectants Lysol and Dettol, which said it was issuing a statement to combat “recent speculation.”
“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),” said the statement from Reckitt Benckiser.
The White House accused the media of misrepresenting Trump’s comment.
“President Trump has repeatedly said that Americans should consult with medical doctors regarding coronavirus treatment, a point that he emphasised again during yesterday’s briefing,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement Friday.
“Leave it to the media to irresponsibly take President Trump out of context and run with negative headlines.”
Researchers are testing the effect of disinfectants on virus-laden saliva and respiratory fluids in the laboratory, said William Bryan, who leads the Science and Technology Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security. They kill the virus very quickly, he said.
“And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning,” Trump said.
“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. So, that, you’re going to have to use medical doctors with. But it sounds -- it sounds interesting to me.”
The president has often talked up prospects for new therapies and offered rosy timelines for the development of a vaccine as he encourages states to move to reopen their economies.
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