Infection Prevention More Important Than Ever, Says World Experts - But Research Shows Many Fall Short In Practicing Good Hygiene In Daily Lives

Main Category: MRSA / Drug Resistance
Also Included In: Preventive Medicine
Article Date: 17 Jul 2006 - 0:00 PDT


World expert on avian flu, Professor John Oxford is spearheading a new initiative to help combat the growing incidence of the spread of infections across the globe. The Hygiene Council - made up of some of the world's top experts in areas such as virology, microbiology and infectious disease - has been formed to develop recommendations on hygiene best practice in the home and community and, it is hoped, will urge the public to re-think their current hygiene practices.

The recommendations encourage the public to get back to basics; washing hands regularly and cleaning and disinfecting surfaces in target areas. At a time of heightened public awareness of health issues such as MRSA and avian influenza, it is hoped that the public will recognise the growing need to protect against infection and be more vigilant about proper hygiene practice. This direction has also been prompted by the fact that almost three quarters of the population of the UK recognise that good hygiene is vital to public health but most admit they don't regularly wash their hands (65%).

These results, part of a global study of more than 8,000 people released today, also showed that around 50% of Britons admitted to not washing their hands properly after sneezing or coughing, 25% did not wash their hands after handling animals and 14% after preparing food. 6% of Britons admit to not washing their hands after going to the toilet.

Professor John Oxford, Professor of Virology at St Bartholomew's and the Royal London Hospital, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry and chairman of The Hygiene Council, commented: "We come from a world of infection, we live in a world of infection and, in the future, unless we take control now, we will continue to live in a world of infection."

Hygiene for the 21st Century

Hygiene practice is regarded as a preventative measure against disease transmission, and can include home hygiene, community hygiene and hospital-based hygiene. Levels of hygiene peaked prior to the Second World War and with the increasing use of antibiotics hygiene practice changed. It is apparent that in the 21 st century, hygiene practices in the home, community and in hospitals do not meet the higher standards practiced by previous generations.

According to Professor Exner, Managing Director, Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, University of Bonn, Germany, "People thought that the book of infection control could be closed and in the 1960s they said that the war on disease had been won. Sadly with the emergence of HIV in the 1980s people naively thought a vaccine would solve that problem, and we know that the book remains very much open."

The Importance of Hand Washing

There is evidently a need to target the public with hygiene practice communications, and also the need to teach medical students and doctors about good hygiene practice in hospitals. Effective hygiene plays an important role in the scheme of infection prevention, and while washing of hands is agreed as the most important of hygiene practices, the use of disinfectants for targeted disinfecting on surfaces is important in prevention of contact transmission, the most common source of disease spread.

"Clean hands can be the most powerful weapon on earth for defeating infection," commented Professor Tierno, Director Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, New York University Medical Centre, USA. The take home message is "if you do nothing else, WASH YOUR HANDS and use a targeted disinfectant," continued Professor Tierno.

This initiative, the first of its kind, is supported by an educational grant from Reckitt Benckiser, maker of the Dettol product portfolio.

Reckitt Benckiser is committed to promoting good hygiene practice in the community. The company continues research into the area of infectious control and in providing effective solutions to help combat disease caused by micro-organisms.

Free consumer guidelines for good hygiene in the 21st century can be found at http://www.hygienecouncil.com

Further information, please visit:

-- Reckitt Benckiser : http://www.reckittbenckiser.com/

-- Dettol: http://www.dettol.com/ and http://www.dettol.co.uk

-- Hygiene Council: http://www.hygienecouncil.com

Hygiene Council Members:

Professor John Oxford, Professor of Virology at St Bartholomew's & The Royal London Hospital, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry

Professor Philip M. Tierno, Director Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, Associate Professor, Departments of Microbiology and Pathology, New York University Medical Centre, USA

Professor Barry D. Schoub, Executive Director, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Johannesburg South Africa

Dr. Sandip K. Ray, Secretary General, Indian Public Health Association, India

Dr Christopher Lee, Consultant Physician Infectious Diseases, Kuala Lumpur General Hospital, Malaysia

Prof Martin Exner, Managing Director, Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, University of Bonn, Germany

Professor Carlo Signorelli, Professor of Hygiene, University of Parma, General Secretary of the Italian Society of Hygiene, Italy

Professor Tariq Ahmed Madani, Associate Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Advisor to the Minister of Health, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Joe Rubino, Director Shared Services, R&D Laboratories, Reckitt Benckiser

http://www.hygienecouncil.com

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