The Infectious Diseases Society of America issued the following Press Release:
For Immediate Release: October 24, 2002
CHICAGO - Despite medical experts' doubts that antibacterial soap is a better germ-killer than
regular soap, half to two-thirds of hand cleansers on store shelves are labeled as antibacterial.
Now a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study confirms what medical experts have suspected.
Results are being presented here at the 40th Annual Meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of
America (IDSA).
"It makes you wonder why they call it antibacterial, because according to our research, it isn't
any more so than plain soaps," said Elaine Larson, Ph.D., R.N., associate dean for research at the
Columbia University School of Nursing, New York, principal investigator of the study. "We found
antimicrobial or antibacterial soaps provide no added value over plain soap."
Further, some health care professionals are concerned that the ubiquitous use of triclosan, the
antibacterial agent most commonly found in such soaps, could add to the growing problem of antibiotic
resistance.
"There is no proof that antibacterial soaps can lead to resistance, but if there's even a theoretical
risk of that, why use it?" said Dr. Larson, who searches out soaps that are not marketed as
antibacterial for use in her own home.
The study was the first double-blinded, randomized controlled clinical trial – the protocol
considered most scientifically sound – to compare antimicrobial soap to regular soap. The study
involved primary caretakers in 222 New York City households: half were randomly assigned to use
antimicrobial soap for daily hand washing and half were given non-antimicrobial hand soap. Microbe
cultures were taken after a single hand washing and following a year of washing with the assigned
soap. Neither the caretakers using the soap nor the investigators who analyzed the cultures were
aware who had been assigned regular vs. antibacterial soap.
The two groups were assessed after one wash with the particular soap and after one year of regular
use of the assigned soap. Cultures showed that after a year, there were fewer microbes on the
caretakers' hands in each group, but there was no difference between the groups.
Although the soaps are typically labeled antibacterial, they are actually antimicrobial, meaning
they affect viruses as well as bacteria, just as regular soaps do.
The study was funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research, a division of the NIH.
Research suggests that the waterless alcohol-based antiseptics used by health care workers in
hospitals are the more effective germ killers.
The waterless antiseptics are not cleaning agents, however, as they don't remove surface dirt, which
is why hand-washing with regular soap is still the best approach for regular daily hygiene.
"If you've got a newborn or a preschooler with a cold, you might consider using an alcohol-based
waterless product for a little extra protection against germs," said Dr. Larson. "But for daily
hygiene, hand-washing with regular soap is fine. Just be sure to wash all of the surfaces on your
hands, the backs, between the fingers, etc. It's not the amount of time that's important, but
covering all the surfaces, as well as applying friction."
The American Medical Association (AMA) recently noted that there was no evidence that antibacterial
products – including soaps, lotions and other household products – work, whereas this study
substantiates that they don't, said Dr. Larson.
Co-authors of a paper on the topic being presented at IDSA by Dr. Larson are Allison Aiello, Susan
Lin, Lillian V. Lee, D. James Kain and Phyllis Della-Latta.
IDSA is an organization of physicians, scientists and other health care professionals dedicated to
promoting human health through excellence in infectious diseases research, education, prevention
and patient care. Major programs of IDSA include publication of two journals, The Journal of
Infectious Diseases and Clinical Infectious Diseases, an Annual Meeting, awards and fellowships,
public policy and advocacy, clinical affairs and other membership services. The Society, which has
nearly 7,000 members, was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Alexandria, Va.
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