Infections linked to wipes which may have been used to clean cuts

Health chiefs have linked a number of infections to certain cleaning wipes and urged people not to use them to treat cuts and scrapes.

Certain products should be binned to avoid contamination, officials said.

It comes after an outbreak of a bacteria, burkholderia stabilis (B. stabilis).

There have been 51 confirmed cases of B. stabilis between 2018 and 2025, with “some serious infections which have required hospital treatment”, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.

Health chiefs said the outbreak is “suspected to be associated with some non-sterile alcohol-free wipe products”.

UKHSA and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are advising people to stop using the products, which they may find in their at-home first aid kit, and to put them in the bin.

This includes: ValueAid Alcohol Free Cleansing Wipes; Microsafe Moist Wipe Alcohol Free and Steroplast Sterowipe Alcohol Free Cleansing Wipes.

Testing also found contamination of Reliwipe Alcohol Free Cleansing Wipes, though with a different strain of the bacteria linked to the outbreak.

While the warning only relates to the wipes listed, officials have reminded the public that non-sterile alcohol-free wipes should not be used for the treatment of wounds.

The public has been warned that non-sterile alcohol-free wipes should not be used for the treatment of wounds (Alamy/PA)

Dr James Elston, consultant in epidemiology at the UKHSA said: “While the overall risk to the public remains very low, a number of non-sterile alcohol-free wipe products have been linked to an outbreak of Burkholderia stabilis.

“It is important these types of wipes are not used for the treatment of injuries, wounds, or broken skin, and that they are not used to clean intravenous lines.

“When treating cuts and grazes, it is important to follow NHS advice.”

Dr Alison Cave, MHRA’s chief safety officer, added: “We consider wipes which are intended for a medical purpose to be medicines. These products do not have a medicines authorisation, and we are taking appropriate action to ensure compliance with the requirements of the applicable legislation governed by MHRA.

“If you have these wipes at home or in a first aid kit, please check the label and only use wipes marked as ‘sterile’ on broken skin.”