Hand Sanitizer Manufacturer Claims: Norovirus

Fascinating that Johnson & Johnson's Purell put out a press release in December announcing their "special formula norovirus killing hand sanitizer " targeting cruise ship lines. This version is 70% alcohol (vs. their standard 62%)...makes for a great mix during cocktail hour no doubt..but as far as this new concoction of alcohol protecting passengers against norovirus...the jury is out

Here's the academic study:

Hand disinfection is considered important in preventing the transmission of viruses, including norovirus. We investigated the virucidal efficacy of nine hand sanitisers (four alcohol-based sanitisers, three non-alcoholic sanitisers and two triclosan-containing antimicrobial liquid soaps) against feline calicivirus, a surrogate for norovirus, on artificially contaminated fingertips for 30s and 2min contact periods. Among alcohol-based sanitisers, a product containing 99.5% ethanol was more effective than those containing 62% ethanol, 70% isopropanol or 91% isopropanol. A log(10) virus reduction factor of 1.00-1.30 was achieved with 99.5% ethanol but those containing a lower alcohol concentration only achieved a log(10) reduction factor of hese results indicate that triclosan-containing antimicrobial soaps or alcohol-based hand rubs may be inadequate for preventing norovirus transmission. Further research on alternative hand sanitisers should continue for effective control of norovirus infections.


Authored by SL, Ramakrishnan MA, Goyal SM. Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN 55108, USA.

Published in J Hosp Infect. 2008 Jan 17