Hand hygiene and health: an epidemiological study of students in Amravati

Abstract

Hands may be the most important means by which enteric pathogens are transmitted. Skin hygiene particularly of the hands, has been accepted as a primary mechanism to control the spread of infectious agents. Therefore the present study was undertaken to evaluate the number and type of enteric bacterial pathogens associated with hands. A total of 160 hands swab samples of 80 students of KG, PS, SS, UG, and PG were analyzed. Pathogens were isolated from hands includes Escherichia coli (22%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (12%), Staphylococcus aureus (15%), Proteus mirabilis (11%), Citrobacter freundii (10%), Enterobacter aerogenes (8%), Streptococcus sp. (7%), Klebsiella sp. (6%), Micrococcus sp. (5%) and Salmonella typhi (4%). The prevalence of the bacterial pathogens was high in students of K.G. and primary than those in secondary schools and colleges. The data indicated that the hands of the female were more contaminated than male and the left hand was more contaminated than the right hand. Thus, the potential risk factors for transmission of enteric pathogens through hands should be investigated in order to improve the general health of the students.

In-vitro antibacterial activity of commercially available hand sanitizers

“…Another recent study carried out in Kenya [19] revealed that 25% of tested products were showing their activity against only 33% of the tested organisms and an indefinite number of the antiseptics were not effective at all against any of the test organism. Results checked at 50% concentration in which almost not all the sanitizers except Sanitizer Hiclean, Biotol and Antibacterial hand gel exhibited any activity against any tested organism, which supports the findings of [17] who showed that antibacterial activity of most of the hand sanitizers decreases with increase in dilution or decrease in its concentration. Our study had few limitations as well that we did not test all the known hand sanitizers at District Abbottabad for the reason that they were not available in the market at that time.…”

Isolation and Identification of Bacteria from under Fingernails

“…Oniya et al, (2006) isolated microorganisms transmissible through hand-shake and also reported prevalence of microorganisms was higher in primary and secondary school students than in the under graduate students. The reduction in the number of pathogens after hand washing was also reported by Tambekar et al, (2009).…”

“…Ray et al, (2009) observed a decrease in colony count following hand washing with soap in 60% of the samples. Tambekar et al, (2009) also observed highest bacterial contamination (70%) was observed on the hands of the KG students followed by 67% on hands of primary students, 66% on secondary students, 64% on PG students and least (57%) on the hands of under graduate students. Ray et al, (2011) found that hand swab samples of 61% children harbours potential pathogens before taking food, also reported presence of pathogenic microbes on the hands of the students which included S. aureus, E.…”

Bacterial and Parasitic Assessment from Fingernails in Debre Markos, Northwest Ethiopia

“…Food handlers can easily contaminate food with Staphylococcus aureus (common cause of food poising) if they do not wash their hands properly after using toilet and after making contact with their nose [22]. Tambekar et al also reported the reduction in the number of pathogens after hand washing [23]. …”