Tea with AK71: Hand sanitiser.

I started using hand sanitisers after the SARS outbreak years ago. Basically, everyone became a bit more conscious of the need for good personal hygiene. It is very sad but we usually need some earth shattering tragedy to effect some positive changes in society. I guess society evolves more rapidly due to such seismic events.

For many years now, I carry in my sling bag a small bottle of hand sanitiser. I would use it before meals or after doing some work with my hands. It gives me a peace of mind.

In the last two or three years, I switched to Dettol's hand sanitiser as it is the only one that did not leave a sticky feeling after use. The stickiness from using hand sanitisers is what puts off some people.  Dettol's formula solved that problem although it costs more.

Today, while driving to work, I saw a large bus ad announcing that Dettol's hand sanitiser kills 99.9% of all bacteria.  I guess this claim must be on the bottle too but I never really bothered to think about it before.  99.9% of all bacteria? What are the 0.1% of bacteria that remain alive and well?

Is that statement just a quantitative one which means that the sanitiser kills all types of bacteria but some are lucky enough to fall through the cracks? Or is the statement a qualitative one which means it kills 99.9% of all types of bacteria but 0.1% of bacteria types are so strong that they could resist elimination?  I would be very worried if 0.1% of bacteria types are strong enough to resist elimination!