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It’s hard to believe in our society of advanced medicine and technological innovation that deadly infections which have been around for decades are on the rise. What’s even more unbelievable about this increase is that there is a simple way of preventing them — proper hand washing.

According to the October 17, 2007, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections occur more frequently than we once realized and cost the U.S. healthcare system more than $2.5 billion a year. MRSA infections have been around a long time but have mostly been limited to healthcare settings. In recent years, however, there has been an increase in the number of cases in the community, including schools. In fact, these “community-associated” infections (those occurring in people who do not have healthcare risk factors) account for 12 percent of infections.

Protecting our schools

MRSA outbreaks in schools across the nation have been widely reported in the media. According to the Centers for Disease Control, schools are breeding grounds for the bacteria causing MRSA because they are often crowded; there is frequent skin-to-skin contact; students can have compromised skin, such as cuts and abrasions; they often contain contaminated items or surfaces; and there is frequently a lack of cleanliness in the facilities.

While outbreaks in schools strike much fear in parents, students and staff, “the truth is, administrators and facility managers at schools and other facilities can do a lot to protect the public from drug-resistant staph and other infections,” says Mike Nelson, vice president of marketing for Pro-Link, a leading jan/san marketing and buying group. “And at the top of the to-do list is encouraging proper hand washing.” Distributors can help administrators in this task by educating them on proper hand-washing techniques.

Showing the way

Studies repeatedly show that hand washing is the single most important safeguard to stop the spread of infection. Yet, many people simply do not take the time to wash their hands or do not wash their hands properly. The same studies indicate there are a number of barriers to good hand hygiene, including inadequate or inconveniently located hand-washing facilities, lack of proper hand-washing training and inadequate hand-washing methods.

“Proper hand washing is key to removing bacteria from hands,” says Nelson.

Distributors should know that soap and water don’t kill germs; they work by mechanically removing germs from your hands. Washing hands with running water alone does a pretty good job of germ removal, but soap increases the overall effectiveness by pulling unwanted material off the skin and into the water.

There are four dos and don’t for proper hand hygiene that distributors need to make sure their customers know: