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New Report Warns of
Hygiene Complacency In World Awash With Common Cold and Influenza
Viruses
LONDON
, September 29/PRNewswire/ --
As the threat of a potentially devastating outbreak of H5N1
bird flu virus adds a new dimension of
concern to the 2005 influenza season, a
new report out today suggests that simple improvements in hygiene could
reduce the transmission of respiratory
viruses by helping to break the chain of
infection. Good old-fashioned hand washing was found to be an effective
way of preventing transmission, while new
products such as anti-viral tissues proved
to be the least effective.
The report by John Oxford, Professor of Virology, and Dr. Rob Lambkin
of Retroscreen Virology Ltd., of Queen Mary's
School
of
Medicine
found that the level of
environmental contamination by respiratory viruses is generally
underestimated.
The influenza virus survives longer on hard non-porous surfaces
in low humidity and at cooler temperatures for up to 48 hours and
could easily contaminate any hands they come
into contact with. Person to person
transfer of rhinovirus is dependent upon time spent together and shedding
of large amounts of virus by the donor. It is therefore possible that
the chain of infection can be interrupted by environmental manipulation.
The study reviewed the
role of hand cleansing, surface disinfection and anti-viral
tissues.
For the common cold virus, the most effective way of breaking the
chain is via hand washing with virucidal compounds, thus preventing the
virus from contaminating environmental
surfaces in the first place. Studies have
shown that viruses can survive on human hands for several hours and that
self-inoculation by rubbing of the nasal
mucosa or conjunctivae with virus-contaminated
fingers could lead to infection in susceptible host.
The least effective way to prevent transmission of the common cold
is through the use of virucidal nasal tissues. Their effect is to trap
or inactivate the virus as it is sneezed
into the tissue. These can kill some viruses,
but usually not instantaneously. After 15 minutes the tissues may
have inactivated some of the virus in the
mucus on the tissue, but by this time
they will have been disposed off in a bin and therefore are not a
transmission threat.
Findings suggest that surface disinfectants may be important in breaking
the chain of transmission by reducing the
risk of hand contamination. A recent
study by the
University
of
Arizona
found high levels of influenza contamination
on everyday surfaces such as phone receivers, light switches, remote
controls and door knobs. Laboratory tests suggest that surface disinfectants
may be important in reducing viruses but that great care is needed
in the selection of disinfectants if transfer of influenza viruses or
rhinoviruses from environmental surfaces to
human hands is to be interrupted effectively.
Disinfectant sprays and domestic bleaches proved the most effective.
Professor Oxford commented: "Unfortunately, personal cleanliness
and hygiene levels have dropped steadily over the last decades with
many microbes, as never before, using the opportunity to spread.
"First and foremost to reduce virus transmission attention|must
be paid to hand washing and then when this is satisfactory, focus
oncleansing surfaces and equipment shared by others such as desks,
tables, telephones and door knobs.
"It is important that people do not come to rely on antiviral
tissues to reduce the spread of viruses and then reduce hand washing as
this could lead to an increase in
infection of what could be very serious respiratory
viruses. Quite rightly for influenza, great reliance continues to
be placed on vaccines and antiviral drugs,
but still virus destruction on surfaces
and hand washing continues to be an important adjunct."
Source: Retroscreen Virology Ltd
For further information
or to receive a copy of the full report, please contact: Miranda
Penfound +44-(0)20-7798-9912 miranda.penfound@toniclc.com. Emily Thomas
+44-(0)20-7798-9904 emily.thomas@toniclc.com,Tonic Life Communications
(30/9/05)
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