Alcohol/Drug Blood Testing Kits – Important Safety Notice
Risk with non-sterile alcohol free wipes
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have advised that certain non-sterile alcohol-free wipes should no longer be used, after an investigation confirmed that some wipes may be contaminated with Burkholderia stabilis.
Burkholderia stabilis is a naturally occurring bacterium. It rarely causes infection in healthy individuals and the overall risk to the general population is very low. However, immunocompromised individuals and those with risk factors such as cystic fibrosis, or with intravenous lines in place, are at greater risk of developing infection.
Since 2018, there have been 51 confirmed cases in the UK suspected to be linked to affected non-sterile alcohol-free wipes. No deaths have been reported, but some infections required hospital treatment. On this basis, UKHSA/MHRA guidance is that non-sterile alcohol-free wipes must not be used for skin preparation prior to taking blood samples.
A link to the full briefing is available here.
This affects all users of SceneSafe Alcohol / Drug Blood Collection Kits, as the non-sterile alcohol-free wipe supplied in the kits has been identified as one of the products possibly affected.
Action required:
- With immediate effect, please instruct all healthcare practitioners not to use the non-sterile alcohol-free wipe supplied in the kit.
- Discard this non-sterile wipe and use an alternative sterile alcohol-free wipe.
- All other kit components remain unaffected and should be used as normal.
SceneSafe is working closely with Eurofins Forensic Services to validate suitable sterile alcohol-free replacement wipes. We expect this work to conclude within days and will contact you again once replacements are approved. Additional stocks of sterile wipes will also be made available to purchase as a standalone product.
Interim guidance:
Clearly there is a requirement to remain operationally effective. The Faculty of Forensic & Legal Medicine has stated that, unless the skin is visibly dirty or contaminated, blood can be taken without skin preparation. However, we recognise this may not align with your current operating procedures. Following advice from specialist forensic consultants, our interim recommendation is that if a wipe is to be used, it must be a sterile alcohol-free wipe.
