Coronavirus: Doctors, health experts slam Trump's 'clear virus with disinfectant' comments

LONDON • Doctors and health experts urged people not to drink or inject disinfectant yesterday after US President Donald Trump suggested that scientists should investigate inserting the cleaning agent into the body as a way to clear Covid-19.

This is an "absolutely dangerous crazy suggestion", said professor of medicine Paul Hunter from Britain's University of East Anglia.

"You may not die of Covid-19 after injecting disinfectant, but only because you may already be dead from the injection."

Mr Trump said at his daily media briefing on Thursday that scientists should explore whether inserting light or disinfectant into the bodies of people infected with the coronavirus might help them clear the disease.

"Is there a way we can do something like that by injection, inside, or almost a cleaning," he said. "It would be interesting to check that."

Mr William Bryan, acting head of the US Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate, outlined his findings at the news conference earlier.

"The disinfectant knocks it out in a minute. One minute," Mr Trump said in response to the presentation, adding that "it gets in the lungs and does a tremendous number on the lungs".

Yesterday morning, the maker of Lysol and Dettol, Reckitt Benckiser, issued a statement that "under no circumstance" should its disinfectant products be administered into the human body, through injection, ingestion or any other route.

The company said that it was issuing the guidance after it was asked whether internal administration of disinfectants "may be appropriate for investigation or use as a treatment for coronavirus", amid recent speculation and social media activity.

The warnings were echoed by doctors and researchers.

Bleach is a toxic chemical, and inhaling it could damage the lungs.

Dr Parastou Donyai, director of pharmacy practice and a professor of social and cognitive pharmacy at the University of Reading, said Mr Trump's comments were shocking and unscientific.

Dr Donyai said that people worried about the coronavirus and Covid-19 should seek help from a qualified doctor or pharmacist, and "not take unfounded and off-the-cuff comments as actual advice".

Former US labour secretary Robert Reich, a professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley, added on Twitter: "Trump's briefings are actively endangering the public's health. Please don't drink disinfectant."

Pulmonologist and global health expert Vin Gupta told NBC News: "This notion of injecting or ingesting any type of cleansing product into the body is irresponsible, and it's dangerous. It's a common method that people utilise when they want to kill themselves."

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 25, 2020, with the headline Coronavirus: Doctors, health experts slam Trump's 'clear virus with disinfectant' comments. Subscribe