Anti-bacterial soaps and body washes in the household aren’t any more effective in reducing illness than regular soap and could potentially contribute to bacterial resistance to antibiotics, experts told a government advisory panel Thursday.
The independent panel, the Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee, advises the Food and Drug Administration. Panelists were to vote later Thursday whether they believed such soaps provided any benefits above regular soap for people outside of health care.
In documents, FDA officials have raised concerns about whether the anti-bacterials contribute to the growth of drug-resistant bacteria, and said the agency has not found any medical studies that definitively linked specific anti-bacterial products to reduced infection rates.
Representatives of the soap industry disagreed with the panel, arguing that anti-bacterials are safe and more effective than regular soap.
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Compiled from news services and edited by Patrick Olsen (polsen@tribune.com) and Drew Sottardi (dsottardi@tribune.com)
