Infections can be prevented by regular hand washing with soap and water when they are dirty or at risk of being contaminated with invisible germs.

Dr Arifa Parker, infectious diseases specialist at Tygerberg Hospital, used the Global Hand Hygiene Day on Monday May 5 to share this message.

The theme for this year’s campaign is: “It might be gloves. It’s always hand hygiene.”

“This is a reminder that gloves are not a replacement for adequate hand hygiene. Using gloves when they are not needed or indicated, is a waste of resources, without necessarily reducing the transmission of germs,” said Dr Parker.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an average university hospital generates 1 634 tons of healthcare waste each year and this number is increasing.

“Hand hygiene improvement programmes are essential and can prevent up to 50% avoidable infections acquired during healthcare delivery and can therefore generate significant economic savings related to healthcare,” Dr Parker said.

She emphasised that poor Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practices, including poor compliance to hand hygiene, contributes to hospital-acquired infections and antimicrobial resistance across public and private healthcare, which has been highlighted by the WHO as one of the top 10 threats to human health (surpassing that of cancer).

In general community settings, infections can be prevented by regular hand washing with soap and water when they are dirty or at risk of being contaminated with invisible germs.

These include:

Before, during and after preparing food
Before and after eating
Before and after treating a cut or wound
After using the toilet, changing diapers or exposure to vomiting or diarrhoea
After touching dirt or garbage
After exposure to respiratory secretions, sneezing or coughing
After touching animals, animal feed or animal waste, and after handling pet food or treats

#germs

‘Hand hygiene can prevent up to 50% of avoidable infections’