Procedure for Local Preparation of Alcohol-Based Hand Rub Solutions
- Gives two complete formulations for 10 litres of hand rub rather than a general instruction: solution 1 of 8,333 ml ethanol at 96 percent, 417 ml hydrogen peroxide at 3 percent and 145 ml glycerol at 98 percent, and solution 2 of 7,515 ml isopropyl alcohol at 99.8 percent with the same peroxide and glycerol quantities, made up to 10 litres with distilled or cooled boiled water.
- Sequences the preparation steps in order, alcohol first by graduated beaker, then hydrogen peroxide and glycerol by graduated cylinder, with the cylinder rinsed because glycerol adheres to the walls, then water to the 10-litre mark.
- Specifies closing the container immediately with a screw cap or lid to prevent evaporation, which is the step that determines whether the final concentration matches the formula.
- Requires immediate distribution into 100 ml or 500 ml dispensing bottles rather than bulk storage.
- Specifies the verification instrument, an alcoholmeter read with the temperature scale below and the ethanol concentration as percentage by volume above, so the product can be checked rather than assumed.
- Was issued in March 2020, at the start of the pandemic, by the pharmacy and medicines directorate, which makes it a production instruction for local manufacture rather than a procurement specification.
Published by the Ministry of Public Health and Population in March 2020, as COVID-19 reached Haiti, this procedure is drawn from World Health Organization recommendations and provides a practical guide for use in the pharmacy laboratory during the actual preparation of hand-disinfecting solutions. The ministry recommends that pharmacists and chemists involved in preparing such disinfectant solutions follow the formulations set out in the document in order to obtain the disinfectant effect sought, while noting that users may wish to adapt. Its interest is less epidemiological than industrial and regulatory: at a moment when imported supply was unavailable, the national pharmaceutical regulator issued formulations for domestic production, which is a documented instance of Haitian local-production capacity being mobilized under supply disruption.
How to cite
Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP), 2020, Procedure for Local Preparation of Alcohol-Based Hand Rub Solutions, https://oldwebsite.mspp.gouv.ht/wp-content/uploads/Guide-de-production-locale.pdf