key: cord-0734806-8nbu5qgc authors: Gercina, Anne Caroline; de Souza Amorim, Klinger; Alves da Mota Santana, Lucas; Groppo, Francisco Carlos; Maciel de Almeida Souza, Liane title: COVID-19: affordable alternatives of household disinfectants for community date: 2020-06-06 journal: Public Health DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2020.06.002 sha: 61fa15523b6e1d274775360e38b21423a6a4a6a7 doc_id: 734806 cord_uid: 8nbu5qgc nan The COVID-19 outbreak highlights the urgency for measures to prevent the spread of the novel Coronavirus. Healthcare providers who are at high risk of crosscontamination 1,2 and occupational exposure is a concern and thus it is critical to address these measures. The members of the family Coronaviridae, including SARS-CoV-2, are enveloped and persistent on inanimate surfaces for several hours to several days and it is essential to have proven disinfectants 3 . Some products such as hypochlorite, hydrogen peroxide, 70% alcoholic solution, peracetic acid, quaternary ammonium, and phenolics compounds have been cited as effective alternatives for the enveloped virus 2,4 . Additionally, it is important to seek affordable household products for the entire population that are in a vulnerable economic situation, unemployed or unable to work 5 . Disinfectants presenting phenolic compounds seem to be a good cost-benefit alternative. The o-Phenylphenol compound has low effectivity, but the addition detergent, including sodium lauryl sulfate, or ethanol seems to increase its efficacy against the HCoV after 5 minutes of its use 6 . However, Geller et al. (2012) 7 demonstrated that only some phenolic compounds and combinations were effective against HCoV (table 1) . There is still a lack of published studies proving its efficacy against SARS-CoV-2. Nevertheless, Health Canada and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), listed several examples of disinfectants to be used during the pandemic of COVID-19, including phenolic compounds 8, 9 . Therefore, admitting that phenolic compounds have equal efficacy in HCoV and SARS-CoV-2, it could be another affordable option to be used during the pandemic for the entire population. To avoid confusion amongst the public in deciding commercialized household product to uses, adequate studies about which compounds and combinations of phenols would be effective against SARS-CoV-2, are necessary to examine. Agencies must publish accessible manuals, relevant instructions, and precautions during manipulation of these products due to the number of increased domestic accidents during quarantine 10 . Key words: COVID 19; SARS CoV-2; transmission; precautions; disinfectants Risk of Contamination of Different Areas of Dentist's Face During Dental Practices Transmission routes of 2019-nCoV and controls in dental practice Protection and disinfection policies against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Persistence of coronaviruses on inanimate surfaces and their inactivation with biocidal agents The socio-economic implications of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19): A review Environmental survival and microbicide inactivation of coronaviruses Human Coronaviruses: Insights into Environmental Resistance and Its Influence on the Development of New Antiseptic Strategies Hard-surface disinfectants and hand sanitizers (COVID-19): List of disinfectants with evidence for use against COVID-19 Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2 Cleaning and Disinfectant Chemical Exposures and Temporal Associations with COVID-19 -National Poison Data System Authors acknowledge Hans P. for providing language help.