Role of Handwashing and Hand Sanitising in Preventing Infection

Abstract

Health care associated infections are now drawing  attention from patients, insurers, governments , health care personnels and regulatory bodies to prevent spread of infection by direct or indirect contact . This is not only due to the range of  problems in terms of the related morbidity and mortality, the cost of treatment, but also due to the recognition that most of these can be prevented. The medical community is witnessing  unprecedented advancements in  understanding  pathophysiology of infectious diseases and the global spread of multidrug resistant infections in health care set-ups and among the public. These factors, compounded by the  availability of new antimicrobials have necessitated a re-look into the role of basic practices of infection prevention in modern day health care. There is clear evidence that strict protocol to hand hygiene practices  reduces the risk of cross-transmission of infections.  “Clean Care is Safer Care” ,  a prime agenda of the global initiative of WHO on patient safety programmes, it is time the developing countries formulate the required policies for implementation of  infection prevention practices in health care set-ups. This review focuses on one of the simplest and basic , low cost but yet the  least accepted from infection prevention: hand hygiene.