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| LETTER TO THE EDITOR |
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| Year : 2022 | Volume
: 15
| Issue : 1 | Page : 142 |
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Breath alcohol test and COVID-19
Rujittika Mungmungpuntipantip1, Viroj Wiwanitkit2
1 26 Medical Center, Bangkok, Thailand
2 Department of Community Medicine, Dr DY Patil University, Pune, Maharashtra, India
| Date of Submission | 08-May-2020 |
| Date of Decision | 30-Jun-2020 |
| Date of Acceptance | 16-Jul-2020 |
| Date of Web Publication | 02-Mar-2021 |
Correspondence Address:
Rujittika Mungmungpuntipantip
26 Medical Center, Bangkok
Thailand
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/mjdrdypu.mjdrdypu_240_20
How to cite this article:
Mungmungpuntipantip R, Wiwanitkit V. Breath alcohol test and COVID-19. Med J DY Patil Vidyapeeth 2022;15:142 |
Dear Sir,
Breath alcohol test is an important tool for legal control for unwanted driving after alcoholic drinking that can lead to traffic accident.[1],[2] In Thailand, the traffic accident rate is very high, and the breath alcohol test is generally performed by traffic policemen. Here, the authors would like to discuss the present challenge in using the breath alcohol test during the COVID-19 outbreak. Since breathing is the main process in sample collection for breath alcohol test, it is possible that the disease mght spread from an infected to the others including traffic police and other drivers who perform the test. In fact, the refusal of breath alcohol test is an interesting issue. In a past report, the refusal due to fear of AIDS was reported and judged unaccepted.[3] Nevertheless, the present situation of the COVID-19 outbreak is different. There is an attempt to use the regular cleansing for decontamination of the breath alcohol test analyzer, but it cannot guarantee for no risk. It is an actual challenge to find new protocols for performing legal alcohol test for safe traffic during the present situation of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
| References | |  |
| 1. | Hlastala MP. The alcohol breath test–A review. J Appl Physiol (1985) 1998;84:401-8.  |
| 2. | Jones AW, Mørland JG, Liu RH. Driving under the influence of psychoactive substances-A historical review. Forensic Sci Rev 2019;31:103-40. |
| 3. | Driver's refusal to take alcohol test due to AIDS is seen as unreasonable. AIDS Policy Law 1999;14:10. |
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