Efficacy of alcohol-based hand sanitizer on hands soiled with dirt and cooking oil

Abstract

Handwashing education and promotion are well established as effective strategies to reduce diarrhea and respiratory illness in countries around the world. However, access to reliable water supplies has been identified as an important barrier to regular handwashing in low-income countries. Alcoholbased hand sanitizer (ABHS) is an effective hand hygiene method that does not require water, but its use is not currently recommended when hands are visibly soiled. This study evaluated the efficacy of ABHS on volunteers' hands artificially contaminated with Escherichia coli in the presence of dirt (soil from Tanzania) and cooking oil. ABHS reduced levels of E. coli by a mean of 2.33 log colony forming units (CFU) per clean hand, 2.32 log CFU per dirt-covered hand, and 2.13 log CFU per oil-coated hand.No significant difference in efficacy was detected between hands that were clean versus dirty or oily.ABHS may be an appropriate hand hygiene method for hands that are moderately soiled, and an attractive option for field settings in which access to water and soap is limited.

Efficacy of Instant Hand Sanitizers against Foodborne Pathogens Compared with Hand Washing with Soap and Water in Food Preparation Settings: A Systematic Review

“…The vast majority of in vivo studies retrieved in the literature were carried out on hands or finger pads artificially contaminated with pure cultures of bacteria or viruses without the presence of food components or organic material (9,16,22,29,37,38,41,42,43,47,55). Seven studies evaluated the efficacy of hand washing products in a food preparation setting on naturally and artificially soiled hands or gloves (7,8,14,15,40,44,48). Three studies evaluated inactivation rates of products on hands contaminated with viral suspensions prepared with other organic loads like fetal bovine serum or feces (15,36,40).…”

Neurocysticercosis: An uncommon cause of drug‐refractory epilepsy in North Indian population

“…Clinical details of the enrolled subjects were noted as per a predesigned questionnaire. Information was obtained pertaining to various risk factors for acquisition of NCC such as SES (high, middle, and lower class as per Kuppuswamy's SES classification), residence in endemic areas, pig‐rearing practice (PRP), PE, habits of outside eating, defecation type (open in fields or closed in toilets), and provision of SWS and HH (good or poor) . Endemicity was divided into three grades: high, moderate, and low .…”

“…• Patients with multiple lesions on radiology are more prone to drug-refractory epilepsy • Pig-rearing practices, that is, residing in an area where pig raising is prevalent, are associated with increased chances of DRE in NCC patients in the present study pertaining to various risk factors for acquisition of NCC such as SES (high, middle, and lower class as per Kuppuswamy's SES classification), 12 residence in endemic areas, 13 pig-rearing practice (PRP), PE, habits of outside eating, defecation type (open in fields or closed in toilets), and provision of SWS and HH (good or poor). [14][15][16][17][18][19] Endemicity was divided into three grades: high, moderate, and low. 13 HH was classified as good if there was history of washing with antiseptic soap one or more times or with nonantiseptic soap two or more times.…”

Environmental enteropathy: critical implications of a poorly understood condition

“…Promotion of basic sanitation as a means to reduce fecal-oral contamination is necessary to reduce the impact of EE in the developing world [62,63][http://www.unicef.org/wash/index_43084.html]. Ensuring universal access to potable water and plumbing would render the sequelae of EE obsolete.…”