Wash your hands well before touching cutlery

As the world prepares to mark the Global Handwashing Day, public health experts are raising questions about whether many people are getting it right.

As simple as the undertaking appears to many people, these experts are returning a harsh verdict: we are not there yet.

Not using soap when washing hands fails the test, they say.

Statistics from national studies on hand washing indicate that about 95 per cent of Kenyan households can afford soaps, but less than 10 per cent of them wash hands as recommended.

“There has been a common belief that what is not visible is not harmful, which largely accounts for the poor handwashing. We recommend that appropriate handwashing with soap be taught in schools and workplaces,” says Prof Mohammed Karama, a principal researcher at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri).

In line with the year 2008 as the International Year of Sanitation by the UN, October 15 has been chosen the Global Handwashing Day.

According to a guide prepared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the inaugural event, using soap helps in breaking down the grease and dirt and facilitates the rubbing and friction.

The Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation estimates that more than 30,000 Kenyan lives are lost annually through diarrhoea, with unknown mortality rates from respiratory infections associated with poor handwashing.

“Handwashing with soap can reduce diarrhoea by up to 45 per cent and acute respiratory infections by 30 per cent,” said Dr Shahnaz Sharrif, the director of public health and sanitation at the launch of the ‘Alliance for the Promotion of Handwashing with Soap,’ an initiative of Unilever Kenya, a home-care and personal products manufacturer.

The alliance brings together stakeholders in health sectors in a campaign to promote safe handwashing.

The worst affected groups, experts say, are children under the age of five years and pregnant mothers, whose immunity systems are lower than other groups.

A pilot survey, Clean Hands Study sponsored by Unilever’s Lifebuoy brand on bacteria and other disease-causing micro-organisms found that bacteria are concentrated on areas least expected.

“Results from a survey carried out in high-level hotels reveal that there was moderate bacteria prevalence at eating points in these facilities. About 50 per cent of the door-knobs and computer mouses recorded moderate bacteria count too,” said Prof Karama, a partner in the handwashing drive.

Although many people rely on cutlery when eating and see no need to wash hands, health professionals say the knives, spoons, and forks are not entirely safe.

Other worst affected areas include workplaces where, according to the latest results of the Clean Hands Study, attract a variety of bacteria with more than 200 species being found on the computer keyboards and mouses.