The Antibacterial Effectiveness of Select Commercial Hand Sanitizers against Escherichia Coli and Staphylococcus aureus

The study assessed the effectiveness of select commercial hand sanitizers against E. coli and S. aureus. It determined which of the hand sanitizer samples can inhibit the least and the most of the growth of E.coli and S. aureus using the filter paper disc diffusion method. It determined the significant difference on the zone of inhibition among the various hand sanitizer samples, assessed the ability of the active ingredients of hand sanitizer samples in killing Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus by using bacterial colony counting; determined the significant difference on the decrease of colony counts. The analysis yielded the following results: all hand sanitizer test samples are capable of inhibiting or killing both test organisms but are of different levels of activity which implies that not all forms of bacterial pathogens are equally susceptible. The hand sanitizer containing 70% ethyl alcohol with Triclosan proved to be the most effective in inhibiting the growth of test organism among the selected commercial hand sanitizers while the one that contains 40% ethyl alcohol proved to be the least against E. coli and S. aureus. Thus, strict labelling of the specific bacteria affected by the products should be required not just by claiming as “99.9% can kill germs.â€

 

Keywords: effectiveness, commercial hand sanitizers, E.coli, S. aureus, Cagayan de Oro City