FACTS

1. One of the biggest issues in shared areas when proper handwashing techniques are not used, is that cross contamination can occur, and germs can be left behind on items that users of the shared space have previously touched.
2. Norovirus is the most common cause of viral gastroenteritis in humans and it can affect people of all ages. It’s often transmitted when people don’t wash their hands and can spread very quickly within large groups of people in close quarters.
3. Common respiratory illnesses caused by poor hand hygiene include the common cold, influenza, chicken pox and meningitis.
4. Infections are transmitted in hospitals and this is often the result of staff and patients not washing their hands.
5. Hepatitis A is a viral infection which can cause severe symptoms including problems with the liver, jaundice, abdominal pain, fever, and fatigue. It’s often spread via food which has been contaminated by people preparing it who haven’t washed their hands after using the bathroom.

STATS

• 66% people are likely to wash their hands more in the future to protect against other common viruses such as norovirus and the common cold, than before the pandemic. Initial Hygiene’s Global Hygiene Reset Report.
• Worldwide, 30 000 women and 400 000 babies die every year from infections, such as puerperal sepsis, often caused by lack of water, sanitation, and poor hand-washing practices.
• 10 MILLION bacteria live on the average desk, making it 400 times dirtier than the average toilet seat.
• 60% of office desks checked contain the bacteria Staphylococcus. Related illness ranges from mild and requiring no treatment to severe and potentially fatal.
• 33% of people don’t use soap when washing their hands (unacceptable in a shared workspace!)
• Only 20% clean their hands before preparing food.
• 39% clean their hands before eating food.
• Fingertips and under the nails are the dirtiest places (people tend to wash their palms and miss the worst bits!)
• Some 15% of men didn’t wash their hands at all, compared with 7% of women. When they did wash their hands, only 50% of men used soap, compared with 78% of women.
• Overall, only 5% of people who used the bathroom washed their hands long enough to kill the germs that can cause infection.