Soap and water best for healthy hand hygiene

Though the anti-bacterial gel is a useful product that decontaminates hands and keeps them clean, they are not good enough to protect against germs transmitted by animals.

Soap and water best for hand hygiene
Issuing a warning to parents taking their kids on farm visits over the Easter break, experts advise that hand washing with plain soap and water is the best way to achieve healthy hand hygiene.

Hand sanitizers can kill certain germs and bacteria by a disinfectant action but dangerous bacteria like E coli, which can be picked up from petting sheep and goats cannot be killed with them, cautions the Health Protection Agency (HPA).

Dr Bob Adak, an expert in gastrointestinal disease, stated, “Visiting a farm is a very enjoyable experience for both children and adults alike but it’s important to remember that contact with farm animals carries a risk of infection because of the bacteria - or germs - they naturally carry.

“It is very important to avoid direct contact with animal droppings and also to be aware of the importance of good hand hygiene. As soon as you have finished touching the animals it is very important to wash your hands using soap and hot water and then dry them thoroughly. Children should be supervised when doing this as they are more at risk of serious disease.

“Visitors should be aware that using sanitising gels is not a substitute for washing hands as gels may fail to remove contamination in the way that soap and running water can. However using sanitising gels following handwashing with soap and water may provide extra benefit.

Review of 55 outbreaks
According to HPA, every year nearly three outbreaks of gastrointestinal disease are related to farm visits.

The disease is triggered by direct contact with germs from animal droppings and contamination from surfaces around the farm.

The agency carried out a review of 55 outbreaks of intestinal disease linked to farm visits between 1992 and 2009. It was noticed that the major factor responsible for infection was use of hand gels instead of good old soap and water.

The survey found over a period of 17 years, 1328 people fell sick after a farm visit and 113 were hospitalized. Most outbreaks were linked to E.coli 0157 and a parasite known as Cryptosporidium.

The worst was the E. coli outbreaks in 2009 at Godstone Farm in Surrey which sickened 93 people including 76 children under the age of 10 years.

The problems varied from mild illness to severe diarrhoea and in some cases serious kidney damage. Other risk factors involved kids sucking their thumbs after petting animals and bottle feeding them.

The agency stated, “To reduce the risk of illness, both adults and children should thoroughly wash their hands using soap and water after they have handled animals or touched surfaces at the farm and always before eating or drinking. Hand gels can't remove contamination in the manner that soap and water can.”

Quick protection
Though the best germicidal thing one can do is to wash hands with soap and water, hand sanitizers provide quick protection against germs when hand washing facilities are unavailable and one has come in contact with a contaminated surface.

Hand sanitizers are also a good option in situations where hands are often in contact with many people, e.g., while shaking hands.