Mon, May 12, 2025 page2

• Hand sanitizers are not a substitute for washing, CDC says

  • By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
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  Alcohol-based hand sanitizers do not protect against some pathogens, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said, urging people to wash their hands thoroughly and frequently.

  Hospitals nationwide last week held public awareness campaigns on the importance of hand hygiene to celebrate World Hand Hygiene Day on Monday. The day is part of the WHO’s “Save Lives: Clean Your Hands” campaign launched in 2009.

  Spraying alcohol on the hands, or wearing gloves or a mask are not enough to protect against some viruses, such as the highly infectious enteroviruses and norovirus, as they are quite resistant to alcohol, Cathay General Hospital Department of Internal Medicine deputy director Chen Li-chun (陳立?) said.

  

  Students from Jhongsiao Elementary School in Kaohsiung wash their hands with soap in an undated photograph.

  Photo: Huang Hsu-lei, Taipei Times

  Washing hands with water and soap can eliminate more than 95 percent of bacteria and viruses on the hands, and it is more effective in preventing diseases than using alcohol-based hand sanitizers, he said.

  People should especially wash their hands thoroughly before eating, after petting animals, returning home, using the bathroom, playing outside and blowing their nose, to protect themselves, as well as their family members and people nearby, Chen said.

  People should also wash their hands thoroughly before and after wearing gloves, as studies have suggested that even medical personnel who wore gloves according to standard procedures might still have a 4.5 percent chance of developing a viral or bacterial contamination on their hands after removing their gloves, Cathay General Hospital superintendent Chien Chih-cheng (簡志誠) said.

  In the post-COVID-19-pandemic era, many people are used to wearing a mask to protect against infectious diseases, but have not formed the habit of washing their hands frequently, National Taiwan University Hospital Center for Infection Control deputy director Wang Jen-tay (王振泰) said.

  However, hand washing is important for preventing many diseases, as well as for reducing the use of antibiotics and the risk of antimicrobial resistance, he said.

  Thoroughly washing hands is the easiest and most cost-effective way to prevent medical-care-related infections and antimicrobial resistance, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) said.

  National Taiwan University vice president and Joint Commission of Taiwan chairman Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) said medical personnel’s hands are often full of infectious pathogens, and they can easily spread bacteria or viruses if they forget to wash their hands thoroughly.

  Even wearing gloves might not provide sufficient protection, he said.

  Medical personnel, caregivers or workers in healthcare facilities should wash their hands thoroughly before approaching patients, before operating cleaning or disinfection procedures, after being exposed to body fluid, after close contact with patients and after being exposed to environments with patients, the CDC said.

  Additional reporting by CNA
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