Adding to the thread:
Dirty, or unwashed, hands are a major source of infections.
This is true even in hospitals where, presumably, much more care is taken to scrub and disinfect hands than almost anywhere else.
The “WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care (advanced draft),” states that:
“Failure to comply with hand hygiene is considered the leading cause of healthcare-associated infections.”
“Each year, at least two million patients in the USA acquire one or more healthcare-associated infections during their stay in hospital.”
“Every day 247 people die in the USA as a result of a health-associated infection.”
The number of infections passed by unwashed hands is probably much higher outside the hospital setting; infectious diseases, many caused by unclean hands, are the leading causes of death and disease worldwide and the third leading cause of death in the United States.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that “hand washing is the single most important means of preventing the spread of infection.”
“To reduce the number of contagious infections spread by hand from person to person, experts recommend washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds after using the bathroom, after touching a dog or cat, coughing or sneezing, changing diapers, handling money or before handling food or eating.”
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/NEWS/allnewsbydate.asp?NewsID=1000
Pet ferret dies of H1N1 in Nebraska
(10/29/2009)
By Ginger ten Bensel
Several Nebraskans have died from complications of the H1N1 Virus. Countless others have gotten sick. Now we are hearing from one Hastings family who said their pets have gotten sick. One of them has died.
Four members of the DeVoll family came down with the flu three weeks ago. They are recovering. The outcome was not so good for their pet ferret. The family has 4 ferrets. All the animals became sick with H1N1 when family members did. Ferrets have the same respiratory system as humans. That allows them to get the virus. Birds and pigs can get it as well.
The DeVoll family said they had no idea their ferrets were at risk. “It was definitely a shock it was unexpected. I just never thought that Stormy would die from the H1N1,” said Kristine DeVoll. The state public health veterinarian said it is not unexpected, but it is rare. Only 2 ferrets in the nation have died from H1N1. That includes Stormy.
“The respiratory system of ferrets and people are quite similar and they are used as a laboratory model for influenza virus research in humans,” said Dr. Annette Bredthauer. Testing was done by the University of Nebraska Veterinary Diagnostic Lab where the ferret tested positive for H1N1. Now a sample has been forwarded on to the National Lab in Ames, Iowa for confirmation. Dr. Bredthauer went on to say the H1N1 virus does not affect dogs and cats. So those pets are safe.
http://new.khastv.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=18916&storytopic=4
We have gone into what I call “cruise mode”. Cruises have hand sanitizer everywhere. You use it every time you go on/off the ships, and everytime you eat. Hand sanitizer is located all over ships.
Our cruise mode includes hand santizer everytime they get into the car. Their school has hand sanitizer in every room, so my kids say they just squirt their hands whenever they leave a room.
Of course this is in addition to regular hand washing.
My daughters have both been sick 1 time since we started this routine. Each time, no one else in the family got sick. Of course, I also used lysol throughout the house when we had a sick kid, especially on the computers.
Last year, we had a really sick year. Even without H1N1 going around, we needed to do more to keep us healthy. Before H1N1, I started researching vitamins to increase the immune system. We’ve been taking those since.