DU Pharmacy students prepare low-cost hand sanitiser

FT ONLINE 

Students and teachers of Dhaka University’s Pharmacy department have prepared low-cost hand sanitiser, aiming to prevent the spread of infectious coronavirus or COVID-19.

Two hundred bottles were prepared in two days as of Friday at the laboratory of Biotechnology Research Centre of the university, said Dr Md Abdul Muhit of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology department.

Dr Abdul Muhit said, “We’ve prepared it with our own fund. We’ll talk to Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof Akhtaruzzaman for further funding. If he cooperates with us, we can take our next step.”

While talking to journalists, DU VC Prof Dr M Akhtaruzzaman said he wants to cooperate with them and will extend support for what they need.

Initially, those bottles of sanitiser will be distributed among the students of 18 dormitories, teachers and staff of the university. 

World Health Organization (WHO) instructed all to wash hands with soap and water or to use alcohol-based hand rubs/sanitisers, as hands touch many surfaces and can pick up viruses. Once contaminated, hands can transfer the virus to eyes, nose or mouth, from where the virus can enter the body and can make one affected with the virus.

Soon after Bangladesh found its first Coronavirus cases confirmed on Sunday, the availability of essentials such as hand sanitizers and liquid hand washes started disappearing from the market, triggering a sudden crisis of the products.