NurseWeek

Antibacterial soaps pose threat

By Noel Holton
Health24News
September 11, 2000


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Washington (H24N). In the long run, antibacterial soaps may do more harm than good, according to a group of researchers who presented data on commercial soap use and bacterial resistance at the 38th Annual Meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

More than 75 percent of all liquid hand soaps, and almost 30 percent of all bar soaps sold in the United States have antibacterial ingredients. Researchers are concerned that these antibacterial agents may spawn mutated bacteria that are impervious to antibiotics.

"With more commercial soaps containing antibacterials, bacteria may become resistant to these soaps, and the speed with which the resistance develops is likely related to the amount used by the public," said Eli Perencevich, MD, a research fellow in infectious diseases at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

Perencevich was the lead author of a study that found that nearly half of all commercial soaps have the antibacterial agents triclosan or triclocarban. Although there has been no proof that these agents prevent infection, research has suggested that triclosan may lower bacterial resistance.

"Triclosan doesn't cause a mutation, but, by killing normal bacteria, it creates an environment where the resistant, mutated bacteria are more likely to survive," said Stuart Levy, MD, a molecular biology and microbiology professor at the at Tufts University School of Medicine. "The magnitude of antibacterial soap use that we documented in our survey is cause for concern."

The researchers collected information on the soaps from national retail chains with stores in 45 or more states, regional chains with stores in an average of seven states and several Internet stores. They logged the ingredients in 295 national brand liquid soaps, and 733 bar-type soaps on display at the stores.

"With so many of these products on the market, consumers may not even realize that they are purchasing soaps that contain antibacterials," Perencevich said. "Perhaps people should check the products' ingredients closely when they make their next soap purchase."