Journal
EPIDEMIOLOGY AND INFECTION
Volume 138, Issue 3, Pages 409-414Publisher
CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1017/S0950268809990641
Keywords
Enteric bacteria; Enterococcus; hand hygiene; prevention; public health
Funding
- Unilever plc
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Although many studies have investigated bacteria oil the hands of health-care workers and caregivers, few have looked at microbiological contamination on the hands of the general adult public. This study investigated faecal bacteria oil the hands of commuters in five UK cities. Of the 404 people sampled 28% were found to have bacteria of faecal origin on their hands. A breakdown by city showed that the proportion of people with contaminated hands increased the further north the city of investigation (P<0.001), an effect which was due ill large part to a significant trend in men but not in women. Bus users were more contaminated than train users. The results of this exploratory study indicate that hand hygiene practices in the UK may be inadequate and that faecal indicator bacteria on hands may be used to monitor the effect of hand-washing promotion campaigns.
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