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Disease Transmission and Hand Hygiene
Did you know that more than just colds and flu can be prevented by the use of appropriate hand hygiene? Washing your hands can help protect you from many other diseases and illnesses, including gastrointestinal illnesses, Hepatitis A, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), as well as the many viruses that can cause respiratory illnesses. Check out examples of these disease-causing agents below!
Hand hygiene can reduce your risk of being infected by the following:
Viruses that cause the common cold or influenza, such as:
Rhinoviruses
Adenoviruses
Coronaviruses
Parainfluenza viruses
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
Influenza A
Influenza B
Agents that cause gastrointestinal diseases, such as:
Salmonella species
Shigella species
Campylobacter jejuni
Escherichia coli (E. coli)
Clostridium difficile
Yersinia enterocolitica
Entamoeba histolytica
Staphylococcus aureus
Rotavirus
Norwalk virus
Giardia lamblia
Cryptosporidium parvum
*Note: Many of the agents above can be killed by properly cooking your food (e.g., E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter etc.). However, it is important that you wash your hands well before and after touching products like meat and poultry (where these agents are common), in order to prevent yourself and others from getting sick.Hepatitis A
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
Hand hygiene will not protect you from diseases that are transmitted by vectors like mosquitos or ticks (e.g., malaria and lime disease, respectively), nor will it significantly protect you from diseases that are spread through droplets or airborne transmission (e.g., tuberculosis or pneumonia). However, if you practice appropriate hand hygiene (see the Wash page for more information), you can reduce your risk of acquiring an infection from some of the agents in the lists above.