[bunderbunder]

> > may or may not work

> That's not accurate. It does work, as in, it does kill bacteria.

It's known to work in vitro, and it's known to work in toothpaste.

It sounds like there is no body of evidence to indicate that it works in things like hand soaps. Considering how often agents like this are found to work under one set of circumstances and not under another, I'd say that suggests that whether the agent works for this purpose is still an unknown.

[ars]

That's the wrong question.

Even if it does work (as in kill bacteria) on the hand, that doesn't mean it works (as in prevents illness).

And in medical settings it's yet another question: does it work (as in prevent the spread of bacteria), even if it doesn't prevent illness.

You have to be careful about what your goal is.