Controlling the novel A (H1N1) influenza virus: don't touch your face!

Macías, Alejandro E.; Torre, Alethse de la; Moreno-Espinosa, Sarbelio; Leal, P.E.; Bourlon, Maria Teresa; Ruíz-Palacios, Guillermo M.

doi:10.1016/j.jhin.2009.06.017

Cited by 55 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…9,10 During the influenza A (H1N1) pandemic, face-touching behavior in the community was commonly observed with individuals touching their faces on average 3.3 times per hour. 11 In the health care setting, frequent face touching, particularly during periods of seasonal endemicity or outbreak, has the theoretical potential to be a mechanism of acquisition and transmission. 1 However, quantifying the role of face touching in the spread of respiratory infections or S aureus colonization is difficult for several reasons.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Face touching: A frequent habit that has implications for hand hygiene

Kwok

Gralton

McLaws

2015

American Journal of Infection Control

352

297

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Increasing medical students' awareness of their habituated face-touching behavior and improving their understanding of self-inoculation as a route of transmission may help to improve hand hygiene compliance. Hand hygiene programs aiming to improve compliance with before and after patient contact should include a message that mouth and nose touching is a common practice. Hand hygiene is therefore an essential and inexpensive preventive method to break the colonization and transmission cycle associated with self-inoculation.

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Face touching: A frequent habit that has implications for hand hygiene

Kwok

Gralton

McLaws

2015

American Journal of Infection Control

352

297

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“…Therefore, it is difficult to say if a method used in a study to recover influenza A virus from environmental surfaces is the most efficient. In addition, cell culture-based methods, such as the CPE assay (15,19), the plaque assay (16), and the hemagglutination (HA) assay (18), as well as molecular methods, like PCR (7,14,16), were used in previous research to determine the persistence of influenza A virus. While CPE and plaque assays can extrapolate infectivity and viability, HA assays and PCR cannot, since surface proteins and RNA can be present even after the virus is no longer viable.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Influenza A virus is an enveloped RNA virus which has been shown to be transmissible primarily by droplet, with less evidence of contact and airborne transmission being available (5,6). Previous research has shown that fomites and surface contamination caused by large respiratory droplets may play a significant role in transmission (6)(7)(8).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Persistence of Influenza A (H1N1) Virus on Stainless Steel Surfaces

Perry

Coulliette

Rose

et al. 2016

Appl Environ Microbiol

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As annual influenza epidemics continue to cause significant morbidity and economic burden, an understanding of viral persistence and transmission is critical for public health officials and health care workers to better protect patients and their family members from infection. The infectivity and persistence of two influenza A (H1N1) virus strains (A/New Caledonia/20/1999 and A/Brisbane/59/2007) on stainless steel (SS) surfaces were evaluated using three different surface matrices (2% fetal bovine serum, 5 mg/ml mucin, and viral medium) under various absolute humidity conditions (4.1 ؋ 10 5 mPa, 6.5 ؋ 10 5 mPa, 7.1 ؋ 10 5 mPa, 11.4 ؋ 10 5 mPa, 11.2 ؋ 10 5 mPa, and 17.9 ؋ 10 5 mPa) for up to 7 days. Influenza A virus was deposited onto SS coupons (7.07 cm 2 ) and recovered by agitation and sonication in viral medium. Viral persistence was quantified using a tissue culturebased enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to determine the median (50%) tissue culture infective dose (TCID 50 ) of infectious virus per coupon. Overall, both strains of influenza A virus remained infectious on SS coupons, with an approximate 2 log 10 loss over 7 days. Factors that influenced viral persistence included absolute humidity, strain-absolute humidity interaction, and time (P < 0.01). Further studies on the transfer of influenza A virus from fomites by hand and the impact of inanimate surface contamination on transmission should be performed, as this study demonstrates prolonged persistence on nonporous surfaces. IMPORTANCEThis study tested the ability of two influenza A (H1N1) virus strains to persist and remain infectious on stainless steel surfaces under various environmental conditions. It demonstrated that influenza A (H1N1) viruses can persist and remain infectious on stainless steel surfaces for 7 days. Additional studies should be conducted to assess the role played by contaminated surfaces in the transmission of influenza A virus.

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“…Misconceptions concerning vaccine effectiveness and safety, the belief that HCWs are not at risk of contacting influenza, fear of injections, a lack of leadership support, and unawareness regarding the recommendations for annual influenza vaccination appear as significant reasons (Table 2). 4,35,59–66 Similar barriers exist concerning the H1N1 pandemic vaccine. A strong association between the uptake of the seasonal influenza vaccine and the pandemic vaccine has been reported 24,67 .…”

Section: Vaccination Of Hcws Against Influenzamentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Crowded wards, prolonged hospitalization, and staff shortage facilitate transmission 5 . The pandemic influenza A H1N1 virus has higher transmissibility, and outbreaks in health‐care settings have been reported 33–37 . Such outbreaks caused by the novel A H1N1 influenza with severe morbidity and fatalities did occur and involved both HCWs and hospitalized patients with underlying diseases who should have been vaccinated.…”

Section: Nosocomial Influenzamentioning

confidence: 99%

Vaccination of health-care workers against influenza: our obligation to protect patients

Maltezou

Tsakris

2011

Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses

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Please cite this paper as: Maltezou and Tsakris. (2011) Vaccination of health‐care workers against influenza: our obligation to protect patients. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses 5(6), 382–388.Nosocomial influenza poses a threat for specific groups of patients and is associated not only with the disruption of health‐care services but also excess costs. Although vaccination of health‐care workers (HCWs) has been recommended for almost three decades and constitutes the most convenient and effective means to prevent nosocomial transmission, vaccine uptake within this group remains unacceptably low worldwide. In regard to the pandemic influenza A H1N1, HCWs constitute a priority group for immunization. Nevertheless, low vaccination rates have been documented regarding the influenza pandemic and associated with the onset of nosocomial cases and outbreaks. HCWs, health‐care institutions, and public health bodies have the moral obligation to protect vulnerable patients and therefore weigh the benefits of mandatory vaccination. Key effective interventions, such as the education of HCWs concerning the benefits and safety of influenza vaccination, the reinforcement of on‐site, free of charge vaccinations, and the use of mobile vaccination teams in conjunction with incentives, should be widely implemented.

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Controlling the novel A (H1N1) influenza virus: don't touch your face!

Cited by 55 publications

References 7 publications

Face touching: A frequent habit that has implications for hand hygiene

Face touching: A frequent habit that has implications for hand hygiene

Persistence of Influenza A (H1N1) Virus on Stainless Steel Surfaces

Vaccination of health-care workers against influenza: our obligation to protect patients

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