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The Effect of Handwashing with Water or Soap on Bacterial Contamination of Hands

Author

Listed:
  • Maxine Burton

    (Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK)

  • Emma Cobb

    (Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK)

  • Peter Donachie

    (Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK)

  • Gaby Judah

    (Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK)

  • Val Curtis

    (Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK)

  • Wolf-Peter Schmidt

    (Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK)

Abstract

Handwashing is thought to be effective for the prevention of transmission of diarrhoea pathogens. However it is not conclusive that handwashing with soap is more effective at reducing contamination with bacteria associated with diarrhoea than using water only. In this study 20 volunteers contaminated their hands deliberately by touching door handles and railings in public spaces. They were then allocated at random to (1) handwashing with water, (2) handwashing with non-antibacterial soap and (3) no handwashing. Each volunteer underwent this procedure 24 times, yielding 480 samples overall. Bacteria of potential faecal origin (mostly Enterococcus and Enterobacter spp.) were found after no handwashing in 44% of samples. Handwashing with water alone reduced the presence of bacteria to 23% (p

Suggested Citation

  • Maxine Burton & Emma Cobb & Peter Donachie & Gaby Judah & Val Curtis & Wolf-Peter Schmidt, 2011. "The Effect of Handwashing with Water or Soap on Bacterial Contamination of Hands," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-8, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:8:y:2011:i:1:p:97-104:d:10837
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Yuko Noguchi & Daisuke Nonaka & Sengchanh Kounnavong & Jun Kobayashi, 2021. "Effects of Hand-Washing Facilities with Water and Soap on Diarrhea Incidence among Children under Five Years in Lao People’s Democratic Republic: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-14, January.
    2. Sinh Dang-Xuan & Hung Nguyen-Viet & Phuc Pham-Duc & Delia Grace & Fred Unger & Nam Nguyen-Hai & Thanh Nguyen-Tien & Kohei Makita, 2018. "Simulating Cross-Contamination of Cooked Pork with Salmonella enterica from Raw Pork through Home Kitchen Preparation in Vietnam," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-15, October.
    3. Bin Cui & Shao Ying Li & Linda Dong-Ling Wang & Xiang Chen & Jun Ke & Yi Tian, 2021. "Hand Hygiene Knowledge and Self-Reported Hand Washing Behaviors among Restaurant Kitchen Chefs in Jiangsu Province, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-15, February.
    4. Mi Ah Han, 2019. "Hand Hygiene Practices Among Adults with Diabetes Living in Communities: The 2015 Korea Community Health Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-10, April.
    5. Carol Devamani & Guy Norman & Wolf-Peter Schmidt, 2014. "A Simple Microbiological Tool to Evaluate the Effect of Environmental Health Interventions on Hand Contamination," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-14, November.
    6. Octavian Augustin Mihalache & Daniela Borda & Corina Neagu & Paula Teixeira & Solveig Langsrud & Anca Ioana Nicolau, 2021. "Efficacy of Removing Bacteria and Organic Dirt from Hands—A Study Based on Bioluminescence Measurements for Evaluation of Hand Hygiene When Cooking," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-13, August.

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    Keywords

    hygiene; trial; infection;
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