A company that first got into business by making cough syrup 166 years ago, has reported enormous interest in its newly launched hand sanitiser gels which claims can kill the coronavirus.

The Cardiff-based survival equipment manufacturer, BCB International Ltd, is renowned for supplying its products and packs to emergency services, including the police and military.

In 1854, Dr. Brown came up with a cough medicine and shipped some off to British troops suffering in the trenches in the Crimean War. Dr Brown’s Cough Bottle gave the initials for a registered company, BCB.

In recent weeks, the company has converted its fuel factory in West Wales to produce a range of hand sanitiser gels to help prevent the spread of the Coronavirus here in the UK.

BCB International’s Managing Director, Andrew Howell, said: “Several weeks ago, when I saw the coronavirus was sweeping through the globe, I decided to act.

“For the last five years we have been producing a solid fuel tablet made from bio-ethanol used by British Troops to warm their rations and heat their drinks. The fuel has anti-bacterial properties, so we decided to develop a hand sanitiser gel variant.

“Since launching production, the demand for our Dr. Brown’s hand sanitisers has rocketed. The UK’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention recommends using a hand sanitiser that contains at least 60% alcohol. Our Dr.Brown’s hand sanitiser packs 80% of alcohol and an independent virucidal test conducted to the BS EN 14476:2013+A2:2019 standard shows it is effective against coronavirus and influenza.”

“Our Dr.Brown’s range is supplied in 50ml, 250ml and 500ml bottles and we are working night and day to keep up with the high demand here in the UK.”

The hand sanitiser claims to kill up to 99.99% of virus and bacteria including COVID-19.