A UK manufacturer supplying water purification products to frontline Ebola response operations in Central Africa is calling for greater focus on infection-control and water treatment preparedness — arguing that supplies must be in place long before an emergency takes hold.
Hydrachem, which has more than 50 years’ experience in water purification and infection control, is currently supplying Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and UNICEF with its Oasis water purification tablets and granules in support of the current Ebola outbreak response in Central Africa.
The Oasis products generate a hypochlorous acid solution when dissolved, providing disinfection capabilities suited to both water treatment and surface decontamination in field settings where liquid chlorine alternatives are difficult to transport and store. Hydrachem’s effervescent chlorine (NaDCC) tablets have a long shelf life and compact format, making them practical for deployment in areas where infrastructure, supply chains, and access are under severe pressure.
The company says the current response highlights a challenge that is rarely addressed until a crisis is already under way: chlorine-based disinfection products must not only be available in principle but must be capable of being stored, moved, prepared, and used consistently in resource-limited environments.
Nicholas Barbieri, Chief Commercial Officer at Hydrachem, said:
“In an outbreak, infection prevention often comes down to very practical questions. Can supplies get there quickly? Can they be stored safely? Can they be prepared correctly? And can response teams use them consistently under pressure?”
“Those details matter. Liquid bleach will continue to play an important role in infectious disease control, but long shelf-life formats such as tablets and granules should also be part of the preparedness conversation, particularly where transport, storage and supply continuity are major challenges.”
Hydrachem is calling on health ministries, NGOs, and humanitarian procurement teams to build strategic reserves of durable, field-ready water purification and disinfection formats as a standard component of preparedness planning — rather than attempting to source supplies reactively once an outbreak is declared and demand has surged.
The call comes amid growing recognition within the water and public health sectors that waterborne disease risk in fragile and conflict-affected settings is compounded by inadequate pre-positioning of water treatment supplies. In outbreak contexts, disruption to centralised water infrastructure increases reliance on point-of-use and community-scale water treatment — precisely where tablet and granule formats have a practical advantage.
Barbieri added:
“Preparedness is often talked about in broad terms, but in practice it comes down to decisions made long before an emergency begins. Building appropriate reserves of durable infection-control formats, including chlorine tablets and granules, is a practical step that can help health ministries, NGOs and humanitarian teams respond faster and more consistently when outbreaks occur.”
“This is not about one product or one format being the whole answer. It’s about making sure teams on the ground have practical, reliable options that work in real-world conditions, quickly.”
Chlorine-based water purification and surface disinfection forms one part of a broader outbreak response, alongside PPE, isolation protocols, hygiene promotion, community engagement, and clinical care. Hydrachem’s Oasis range sits within a wider portfolio of infection prevention products supplied to healthcare providers, public health organisations, and humanitarian programmes in more than 60 countries.
Established in 1973, Hydrachem is a UK-based manufacturer with expertise in effervescent chlorine (NaDCC) tablets. The company works with NGOs, governments, and healthcare institutions — including the NHS — to support waterborne disease prevention. Hydrachem says its products contribute to more than 10 billion litres of safe drinking water produced each year globally.
For more information, visit hydrachem.com.
