Global Hygiene Council recommends: "Hand Hygiene, the first line of defence against flu and viral infections"

• Only 42% of Indians feel that hand washing is an effective way
   to prevent the spread of flu
• 70% of Indian's don't wash their hands for recommended duration.

At the same time the new study conducted in 2009 by the Global Hygiene Council and Dettol reveals startling results on poor levels of hand-hygiene amongst Indians, with only 42% of Indians feeling that hand washing is an effective way to prevent the spread of flu and viruses, 29% of people in India not washing their hands properly after coughing or sneezing and 70% of Indian’s not wash hands their hands for the recommended duration (at least 20 seconds). Further, nearly 3 in 5 (59%) parents admitted that their children may not wash their hands properly in between meal snacking

Sharing these results, Dr. Narendra Saini, India representative, Global Hygiene Council said, “Good hand hygiene is the first line of defense against spread of many illnesses. We at Global Hygiene Council are working towards providing the public with the knowledge and tools to enable them to protect themselves and their families from infection and illness by practicing proper hand hygiene.”

As part of the education drive, Dr. Narendra Saini, the Indian representative to the Global Hygiene Council along with Dettol has been undertaking workshops across the country reaching out to doctors, school children, RWAs, and imparting basic education on hand hygiene and personal hygiene. As part of the workshop, simple aspects like “6 steps of hand-washing” were demonstrated and taught. Till now over 2700 doctors have been met across cities like Delhi, Jaipur, Baroda, Calcutta, Trivandrum and more.

The Global Hygiene Council survey shows that lack of personal hygiene among people leads to being exposed to common infections like flu or even the recently experienced, Swine Flu. Based on the results of the survey, the Global Hygiene Council recommends simple, effective guidelines that help the public protect their families against this virus:

• Practice good hand hygiene – wash your hands frequently with soap and water
• Practice good cough and sneeze etiquette to prevent spreading germs to others – i.e. cough into your elbow rather than your hands and sneeze into a tissue to minimize hand contact transmission of germs.
• Avoid touching your mouth, nose and eyes with your hands
• Wash your hands thoroughly after contact with the ill person

Releasing a book on the recommendations and results, on behalf of Dettol, Mr. Chander Mohan Sethi, Chairman and Managing Director of Reckitt Benckiser (India) Ltd, said, “The results of the studies conducted bring out the reality of hand hygiene standards amongst people from across socio-economic strata. There has never been a more important time to re-look at our hand hygiene habits, for hands are the key carrier of germs that spread infections, and good hand hygiene is the one tool within easy reach to everyone, that can reduce the risk of infection”

Hand hygiene standards in India compared poorly against respondents from other countries like US, UK, Germany, Australia and South Africa. However, Indian hand hygiene standards were better than respondents from Malaysia and Saudi Arabia

• 75% American’s believe that hand washing is important to help protect against catching a cold or flu, while 42% Indians and only 21% in Malaysia think so
• More than 55% American’s and South African’s believe that hand washing at home is the most effective way to prevent the spread of germs, while 44% of Indian’s believe the same.

On the occasion, Dr. Dharam Prakash, Honorary Secretary General, Indian Medical Association (IMA) said, “It is imperative to continue to spread the message of hand hygiene for the prevention of illnesses. We at IMA are committed to promoting good hygiene practices in India and appreciate the work being done by Dettol in this regard.”

About Hygiene Council

Global Hygiene Council is an independent body founded in 2006, which brings together leading global experts in the field of microbiology, virology, infectious diseases, immunology, and public health. Its aim is to revisit current hygiene practices in order to offer realistic recommendations to the public on the importance of hygiene in the home and community. . The Global Hygiene Council is headed by Prof. John Oxford, Professor of Virology at St Bartholomew’s & The Royal London Hospital, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry.  The Indian representative on the Hygiene Council is Dr. Narendra Saini, Head of Department, Microbiology & Immunology; Chairman, Hospital Infection Control Committee, Pushpanjali Crosslay Hospital, Vaishali, Ghaziabad, INDIA.

The Hygiene council, supported by Dettol, aims to understand the attitudes and beliefs of consumers towards hygiene, and suggest simple hygiene measures to help consumers bring down the risk of infections. 

The In-Home Swabbing Study was conducted across 7 countries in the world, including US, UK, Germany, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Malaysia and India. The results are based on physical swabs taken from different surfaces inside the home, the Kitchen Tap, Kitchen Sink, Kitchen Working Surface, Kitchen cloth, Refrigerator, Bathroom Taps, Bathing area and Toys. Microbiological testing was done to check presence of germs causing illnesses like diarrhoea, respiratory infections, and skin infections. 

The Hygiene Survey amongst the general public was carried out amongst 10,000 consumers from 10 countries.

The work of The Hygiene Council and The Hygiene for the 21st Century
initiative is funded through an educational grant from Reckitt Benckiser.

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