'It's irresponsible and it's dangerous': Experts lay in to Donald Trump after he suggested injecting disinfectant to treat coronavirus as Joe Biden joins outcry and says president should focus on testing and more PPE

The medical community has slammed President Donald Trump after he suggested injecting people with disinfectant could treat coronavirus. 

During yesterday's White House press briefing, citing new research delivered by senior Homeland Security science and technology advisor William Bryan, the president said it 'would be interesting' to see if mainlining disinfectant into the lungs could eradicate the pathogen.    

Pulmonologist and disease specialist Dr Vin Gupta warned the public on NBC News that Trump's idea could lead to death. 

'This notion of injecting or ingesting any type of cleansing product into the body is irresponsible and it's dangerous,' he said. 

'It sounds interesting to me,' Trump said Thursday, telling reporters he queried an official about whether cleaning agents could be injected into patients to fight the coronavirus

'It's a common method that people utilise when they want to kill themselves.' 

Gupta added that even small amounts of disinfectant can kill and that it was depressing to hear the White House spouting such dangerous ideas. 

Less severe effects of ingesting bleach include vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, dizziness, heart palpitations and rapid breathing, similar to symptoms of severe dehydration. 

Gupta also accused the president of proposing unproven treatments.   

Joe Biden, the president's challenger in the upcoming elections, advised Trump to focus on PPE and testing, rather than wild theories: 'UV light? Injecting disinfectant? Here's an idea, Mr. President: more tests. Now. And protective equipment for actual medical professionals.' 

Trump's challenger in the upcoming 2020 election Joe Biden also chimed in, advising the president to focus on testing and PPE rather than spouting wild theories

The government's own Food and Drug Administration warned against the consumption of disinfectants last year after a spate of deaths from people drinking a so-called Miracle Mineral Solution, which circulated as a fix for a variety of ills on social media.  

John Balmes, a pulmonologist at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, added to Gupta's warning that even inhaling chlorine bleach 'would be absolutely the worst thing for the lungs'.  

'The airway and lungs are not made to be exposed to even an aerosol of disinfectant,' he told Bloomberg. 

'Not even a low dilution of bleach or isopropyl alcohol is safe. It's a totally ridiculous concept.'

Online, doctors banded together to warn the public against the practice.     

Kashif Mahmood, a doctor in Charleston, West Virginia, tweeted: 'As a physician, I can't recommend injecting disinfectant into the lungs or using UV radiation inside the body to treat Covid-19.

'Don't take medical advice from Trump.'

Another bizarre cure suggested by Trump yesterday was to somehow radiate the body with UV light after research found that exposure to sunlight and heat killed the pathogen.                 

Kashif Mahmood, a doctor in Charleston, West Virginia, tweeted: 'Don't take medical advice from Trump'

According to NBC, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was forced to warn Americans not to consume cleaning products last week. 

'Calls to poison centres increased sharply at the beginning of March 2020 for exposures to both cleaners and disinfectants,' the agency's weekly morbidity and mortality report. 

The agency's website says: 'The FDA has received reports of consumers who have suffered from severe vomiting, severe diarrhoea, life-threatening low blood pressure caused by dehydration, and acute liver failure after drinking these products.'

Disinfectant should not be injected, Dettol warns, after Trump's comments

Under 'no circumstance' should disinfectants be injected or consumed, the company which makes Dettol has warned, following comments made by Donald Trump.

The US president is facing a backlash after suggesting it would be 'interesting to check' whether a disinfectant injection could help combat coronavirus.

During his latest press conference, Mr Trump said researchers were looking at the effects of disinfectants on Covid-19.

Wondering aloud if they could be injected into people, he added the virus 'does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that'.

But hours later, disinfectant manufacturer RB, the company behind the Dettol and Lysol brands, urged people not to try the method.

The company issued a statement saying: 'Due to recent speculation and social media activity, RB has been asked whether internal administration of disinfectants may be appropriate for investigation or use as a treatment for coronavirus.

'As a global leader in health and hygiene products, we must be clear that under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion or any other route).'

It added that all its products should only be used as intended and according to usage guidelines.