Global Hand Washing Day
Global Hand Washing Day
Global Handwashing Day is a campaign to motivate and mobilize millions around the
world to wash their hands with soap. It
takes place on October 15 of each year. The campaign is dedicated to raising
awareness of hand washing with soap as a key approach to disease prevention.
Hand
washing with soap is the single most effective and inexpensive way to prevent diarrhea and
acute respiratory infections (ARI), and swine flu as automatic behavior
performed in homes, schools, and communities worldwide. Pneumonia,
a major ARI, is the number one cause of mortality among children under five
years old, taking the life of an estimated 1.8 million children per year.
Diarrhea and pneumonia together account for almost 3.5 million child deaths
annually
Hand-hygiene
is a vital part of infection control. The process of drying hands after washing
constitutes an important part of the process. Not drying one’s hands thoroughly
after washing them entails the risk of the spread of bacteria. A study by
researchers at the University of Bradford and published recently in the Journal
of Applied Microbiology looks at different methods of hand drying, and their
effect on transfer of bacteria from the hands to other surfaces. The different
methods include paper towels, traditional hand dryers, which rely on
evaporation, and a new model of hand dryer, which rapidly strips water off the
hands using high velocity air jets.
The study
further reveals that human bodies naturally have bacteria called commensals all
over them. However, bacteria from other sources can also survive on hands, and
can be easily transferred to other surfaces, increasing the risk of
cross-contamination.
When hands are washed the number of bacteria on the surface of the skin decreases, but they are not necessarily eliminated. If the hands are still damp then these bacteria are more readily transferred to other surfaces.
The findings of the study demonstrate that the most effective way of keeping bacterial counts low, when drying hands, is using paper towels. Amongst the electric dryers, the model that rapidly stripped the moisture off the hands was best for reducing transfer of bacteria to other surfaces.
#Handwashing #Water #Bacteria #CrossContamination #Humanbodies #Transfer #Pneumonia #Bradford
When hands are washed the number of bacteria on the surface of the skin decreases, but they are not necessarily eliminated. If the hands are still damp then these bacteria are more readily transferred to other surfaces.
The findings of the study demonstrate that the most effective way of keeping bacterial counts low, when drying hands, is using paper towels. Amongst the electric dryers, the model that rapidly stripped the moisture off the hands was best for reducing transfer of bacteria to other surfaces.
#Handwashing #Water #Bacteria #CrossContamination #Humanbodies #Transfer #Pneumonia #Bradford
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