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Fact Check: Does The COVID-19 Nasal Swab Cause Cancer? Here Is The Truth

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A video is being widely shared online in which a lady, who claims to be a resident nurse, states that nasal swabs contain Ethylene Oxide chemical which cause cancer. A nasal swab is used to take a sample of mucus from the nose for an RT-PCR test to determine coronavirus.

The video is shared with a caption that reads, “Nasal Swab Kit With Ethylene Oxide What kinds of cancer does ethylene oxide cause? Evidence in humans indicates that long-term exposure to ethylene oxide increases the risk of cancers of the white blood cells, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma, myeloma, and lymphocytic leukemia. Studies also show that long-term exposure to ethylene oxide increases the risk of breast cancer in females.”

The link to the post can be seen here. Similar posts can be seen here and here.

FACT CHECK

NewsMobile did a fact-check and found the claim to be misleading.

On searching with the keyword ‘Ethylene Oxide in nasal swab’, we found step-by-step guidelines published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for self-testing of COVID-19. In the guidelines, it mentions that the swab used for COVID-19 testing has sterilised symbol, which means that ethylene oxide is used for its sterilisation.

Hence, ethylene oxide is used in the process of sterilisation of the swab.

Does Ethylene Oxide Cause Cancer?

Research published by World Health Organisation (WHO) found out the association between occupational exposure to Ethylene Oxide and various types of cancer like stomach, pancreas, brain, haematological system. It speaks about overexposure to Ethylene Oxide and its link to cancer.

We found a blog post on the website of the National Cancer Institute (an agency of the US Department of Health and Human Services). The post mentioned that ethylene oxide is an effective sterilizing agent due to its ability to damage DNA but it can also cause cancer. The report further states that most of the exposure to ethylene oxide is either occupational, consumption or environmental.

Is nasal swab used to test COVID-19 harmful for human health?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Ethylene Oxide is used for the sterilization of medical equipments that are moisture or heat sensitive and cannot be sterilized by steam sterilization. However, the last stage of sterilization desorbs ethylene oxide leaving minimum residue on the medical equipment which does not cause harm to human health. According to CDC, “ETO is absorbed by many materials. For this reason, following sterilization, the item must undergo aeration to remove residual ETO. Guidelines have been promulgated regarding allowable ETO limits for devices that depend on how the device is used, how often, and how long in order to pose a minimal risk to patients in normal product use.”

According to the United States Food and Drugs Authority (US FDA), around 50% of medical equipment uses Ethylene Oxide gas for its sterilization. However, Steris, an organisation that sterilises medical products, in its blog also mentioned that residue of ethylene oxide left after sterilisation on the surface of the product, is removed through aeration, making the product safe for use.

Canada health department in its guideline for safe and effective swab for COVID-19 test, also mentioned that swabs used for testing COVID-19 must meet minimum sterility assurance level of 6-10. This means that if the swabs are using Ethylene Oxide for sterilisation, then the residuals of it must meet the tolerable contact limits (TCL) specified in ISO 10993-7, which is permissible and not harmful for human health.

Hence, we can conclude that even though ethylene oxide can be carcinogenic, it is used in the sterilisation of medical equipment, but through controlled procedures that ensure minimal residue is left that causes no harm to the human body, as also, meets the minimum sterility assurance levels that have clearly been specified.

Thus, the viral claim is misleading as the above information proves that the nasal swab used to test COVID-19 is NOT harmful to human health.

Also Read: Facts Twisted To Imply Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin Contains Calf Serum; Here’s The Truth

If you want to fact-check any story, WhatsApp it now on +91 11 7127 9799

 

 

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