Cleaning and Disinfectant Chemical Exposures and Temporal Associations with COVID-19 — National Poison Data System, United States, January 1, 2020–March 31, 2020
MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report·
- DOI
- 10.15585/mmwr.mm6916e1
- PMID
- 32324720
- PMCID
- PMC7188411
- OpenAlex
- W3016826324
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Centers for Disease Control MMWR Office
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The observed temporal association between COVID-19 emergence and increased poison center calls for cleaning and disinfecting product exposures may inform public health communication strategies regarding safe use of these products during infectious disease outbreaks.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study examined whether temporal associations existed between COVID-19 cleaning recommendations and the volume of chemical exposure calls reported to poison centers in the United States.
Study design
Surveillance data from the National Poison Data System were analyzed, comparing exposure calls related to cleaners and disinfectants during January-March 2020 with the same period in 2018 and 2019.
Population and setting
The analysis included exposure calls received by 55 poison centers across the United States during the first quarter of 2020.
Main findings
Poison centers received 45,550 exposure calls related to cleaners and disinfectants during January-March 2020, representing increases of 20.4% and 16.4% compared to the same periods in 2019 and 2018, respectively. A temporal association was observed between these increases and the emergence of COVID-19, though the data do not establish a definite causal link to cleaning efforts.
Public-health relevance
The observed temporal association between COVID-19 emergence and increased poison center calls for cleaning and disinfecting product exposures may inform public health communication strategies regarding safe use of these products during infectious disease outbreaks.
Important limitations
This summary relies on the supplied single-article abstract and metadata. The NPDS data system does not capture information that would definitively link exposures to COVID-19 cleaning activities. Full interpretation requires review of the complete published article.
GIDS interpretation
This article is discoverable through GIDS surveillance channels via classifier links to COVID-19, transmission dynamics, and environmental topics. The temporal association reported represents an observational pattern in poison center data during the study period and does not constitute evidence from ongoing GIDS surveillance signals.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 13 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.