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More than one million units of a brand of hand sanitizer that is no longer licensed for use in Ireland were distributed to healthcare facilities across the state.
Virapro brand hand sanitizer contains methanol instead of ethanol and the Department of Agriculture has advised people to stop using it and the company’s other products.
Inadequate levels of ethanol make the product ineffective, and frequent use of a methanol sanitizer can cause nausea, dermatitis, eye irritation, upper respiratory tract irritation and headaches, he said.
Several schools were forced to close Friday as a result of the recall. The product was shipped to schools throughout the state for use by students and staff.
The Health Services Executive (HSE) confirmed on Saturday that it had received more than three million units of ViraPro disinfectant for use in healthcare settings. Two million of these were in storage and more than a million have been “shipped to healthcare locations,” he told The Irish Times.
A recall team has been mobilized and “all stocks currently in national PPE distribution centers have been” immediately quarantined, “said an HSE spokeswoman.
The recall would help establish “how much product needs to be lifted and replaced,” he said.
He said there was “ample stock available” in HSE storage to replace the recalled disinfectant.
Methanol
On Thursday, the public was urged not to use the product as it contains methanol instead of ethanol.
On Friday night, the Department of Agriculture said that, in the course of the investigation into the hand sanitizer, it became known that several other Virapro-brand sanitary products were not on its approved list of biocides.
Ireland
The public is advised to stop using all Virapro toilets …
“The company in question has been advised to withdraw all these products from the market,” said a statement from the department.
“Therefore, the department advises, on a preventive basis, that all medical devices in the Virapro range should be returned to the supplier.
“The public is encouraged to stop using these products because they are not authorized for use.”
The department said that all products containing biocides must have specific information and data on the labels.
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