Disinfection booths in the context of covid-19 pandemic

Objectives: Industries have made claims on the effectiveness of a disinfection procedure in reducing COVID-19 transmission This procedure is usually performed by automated dispersion of disinfectant on individuals when they go through a booth This Health Technology Assessment (HTA) report is a systematic review that synthesizes the evidence on the efficacy and safety of using these booths and provides recommendations to the Ministry of Health to facilitate decision-making regarding the relevance of using this technology Methods: A systematic literature review was performed using Pubmed, Web of Science, INAHTA and GIN databases, from inception to June 4, 2020 Three independent reviewers selected eligible studies then extracted and synthesized the evidence The synthesis was submitted to a multidisciplinary group of experts to provide recommendations Results:Two scientific papers and a Malaysian HTA report were included in data synthesis In light of the resources consulted, spraying disinfectants on humans in booths is not effective and can be toxic Disinfectants are intended for use on surfaces, not on living tissue and spraying disinfectants on the outside of the body does not kill the virus inside an infected person’s body Furthermore, this procedure may increase the risk of neglecting other effective measures Conclusion: It is recommended to prohibit the use of disinfection booths in all structures © 2020, Maison du Medicine All rights reserved