Schools prepare for Global Handwashing Day
The benefits of hand washing and the role it plays in combating the spread of infection is being promoted internationally on October 15.
Global Handwashing Day is an annual event to remind the public of the undisputed health effects of washing the hands with soap and water.
“The aim is to make the act of washing the hands an automatic function in homes, schools and communities worldwide,” said SCA Tissue Europe product and market manager Charlotte Branwhite.
“Many people know the benefits of hand washing but few know how it actually works.” She says the increasing use of alcohol gels following last year’s swine flu pandemic has clouded the issue.
“Alcohol gels destroy the structure of most micro-organisms: ’flu viruses for example depend on a covering layer of fat to survive, and this is disrupted by alcohol sanitisers,” said Charlotte. “However, some viruses have a solid shell that is resistant to alcohol gels.
“What you can’t destroy, it’s better to wash away. Any microbes that don’t respond to alcohol rubs can be removed with soap and water. Alcohol gels can be a perfectly good addition to hand washing – but can never replace it.”
Global Handwashing Day 2010 will focus on schools and children, and organised activities will take place in classrooms and playgrounds all over the world. Poor hygiene and a lack of access to sanitation in developing countries together contribute to about 88 per cent of deaths from diarrheal diseases, accounting for 1.5 million diarrhoea-related deaths in under-five each year.
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