A new alcohol-free sanitizer has been developed by the Dedan Kimathi University in Kenya.
The post has a website link which says that Dedan Kimathi University of Technology invented the “alcohol-free” sanitizer., The Chemistry Department at the university released a YouTube video, announcing their newly developed hand sanitizer, which they say is made of sodium lauryl sulphate and aloe vera extracts., Sodium lauryl sulphate is an emulsifier and foaming agent found in many personal care products. Aloe vera is a medicinal plant that is used in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industries., Speaking to PesaCheck on phone, Dr Moses Ollengo, a lecturer at the university revealed that their hand sanitizer contains alcohol at 60%., “The hand sanitizer contains alcohol at 60%, followed by sodium lauryl sulphate which is added as an addition to the mixture to penetrate and rapture the lipid layer of the virus-carrying molecule. Other ingredients include aloe vera, which is antibacterial and glycerine as moisturizers” said Dr Ollengo., The lecturer, who explained their process while promoting the new product in the YouTube video, said what makes their sanitizer a new development from normal ones is that it contains the addition of the sodium lauryl sulphate, which “completely destroys the viral RNA molecule unlike just alcohol which just collapses the molecule through rapid evaporation”., In a Twitter post, the university said their hand sanitizer aims to protect the institution from the coronavirus pandemic even as they adhere to the World Health Organization (WHO) and Kenya’s Ministry of Health guidelines., PesaCheck has looked into the claim that Dedan Kimathi University of Technology has invented an alcohol-free sanitizer to control the spread of COVID-19 and finds it to be FALSE., This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms., By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organizations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds., Have you spotted what you think is fake news or false information on Facebook? Here’s how you can report. And, here’s more information on PesaCheck’s methodology for fact-checking questionable content., This fact-check was written by PesaCheck Fact-Checker Najma Juma, and edited by PesaCheck Deputy Editor Ann Ngengere., The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck Managing Editor Eric Mugendi., PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator: Code for Africa. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water/sanitation. PesaCheck also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit pesacheck.org., PesaCheck is a joint initiative of Code for Africa, through its innovate African fund, with additional funding support from the International Budget Partnership (Kenya) and Twaweza, in partnership with a coalition of local media organizations, and the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ)., Written by, Written by
FALSE: This new ‘alcohol-free’ hand sanitizer actually contains 60% alcohol