DETTOL MANUFACTURER RECKITT Benckiser has said that “under no circumstances” should its disinfectant products be injected or ingested after US President Donald Trump suggested that disinfectant could be injected into the body as a treatment against Covid-19. 

In a statement issued today, the company said: “We must be clear that under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body.”

“As with all products, our disinfectant and hygiene products should only be used as intended and in line with usage guidelines,” the statement said. 

The statement did not reference the comments by Trump. The company said that it was responding to “recent speculation and social media activity”.

Medical experts have already roundly criticised Trump’s suggestion that ingesting disinfectant could provide a cure against the virus. 

During a White House briefing, Trump noted that the researchers were looking at the effects of disinfectants on the virus and wondered aloud if they could be injected into people, saying the virus “does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that”.

William Bryan of the Department of Homeland Security said that it was not being considered. 

Ingesting disinfectant or cleaning products is highly dangerous and in some cases can prove fatal. 

Trump also wrongly suggested that sunlight might have an impact on the virus. 

He was asked if it was dangerous to make people think they would be safe by going outside in the heat, considering that so many people have died in Florida.

“I hope people enjoy the sun. And if it has an impact, that’s great”, the president replied, adding, “It’s just a suggestion from a brilliant lab by a very, very smart, perhaps brilliant man.

“I’m here to present ideas, because we want ideas to get rid of this thing. And if heat is good, and if sunlight is good, that’s a great thing as far as I’m concerned.”

With reporting from Press Association