Research Highlights

• Subject Category:
  • Clinical medicine

Published online: 2 December 2009 | doi:10.1038/nchina.2009.230

Public health: Wear a mask and wash your hands

Felix Cheung

Introduction

© (2009) istockphoto.com/Kim Gunkel

Scientists have learned from past pandemics that good personal hygiene can prevent the spread of infectious diseases. There are few clinical data, however, on the effectiveness of hand hygiene and facemasks against influenza. Benjamin John Cowling at the University of Hong Kong and co-workers¹ have now conducted a randomized controlled trial on this subject.

The researchers recruited 259 patients who tested positive for influenza virus by rapid testing between 2 January and 30 September 2008. They randomly assigned these patients and their healthy family members into three groups: a control group, in which patients were simply to follow a healthy lifestyle and diet; a hand hygiene group, in which patients were to wash their hands after sneezing, coughing or going to the toilet; and a facemask group, in which patients were to wear masks as often as possible.

The researchers visited these patients and their family members seven days after symptom onset. They found that far fewer family members had caught influenza in the hand hygiene or facemask groups compared to the control group.

The finding demonstrates that hand washing and facemasks are effective interventions in preventing the spread of influenza. The researchers recommend that people should implement these precautionary measures early after symptom onset.

The authors of this work are from:
School of Public Health, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Hospital Authority and Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health, Government of Hong Kong SAR, Hong Kong, China; Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital, Hong Kong, China; St Paul's Hospital, Hong Kong, China; St Teresa's Hospital, Hong Kong, China; Hong Kong Baptist Hospital, Hong Kong, China; National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Seattle Quarantine Station, Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Center for Preparedness, Detection and Control of Infectious Diseases, Seattle, Washington, USA.

Reference

1. Cowling, B. J. et al. Facemasks and hand hygiene to prevent influenza transmission in households. Ann. Intern. Med. 151, 437–446 (2009). | Article | PubMed | OpenURL