International Specialty Supply

Supplying Sprout Companies Throughout the World

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Cookeville, TN 38501 USA

931 526 1106

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Wash Up, But Don't Touch Those Taps Afterward: 
You Can't Get Rid of E.Coli, But You Can Keep it Under Control with a Few Simple Steps

June 5, 2001
Globe and Mail
Marissa Nelson

Hang out in a public washroom for any length of time and, according to this story,  you'll see them; the non-hand-washers of the world. Then, the story says, there's the folks who just sprinkle a few digits with water and quickly turn off the faucet. That worries public-health officials in Ontario's Durham region, east of Toronto, where an outbreak of a multidrug resistant form of E. coli at long-term care facilities was largely spread by dirty hands, said Allison McGeer, an infectious-disease expert at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. Other cases have been reported in York region, north of Toronto, and Scarborough.

The story says that in general, bacteria don't thrive on inanimate objects such as hand rails and door handles but they can survive in such places for brief periods of time. So, caretakers at the facilities are scrubbing down every surface the residents touch twice a day. Going to the washroom is the closest you'll get to the E. coli that lives in your bowel. Donna Reynolds, associate medical officer of health for Durham region, was quoted as saying, "E. coli is a part of our normal bowel. We can't eliminate it." The says that some studies show that up to 25 per cent of people leave the washroom with bacteria from feces on their hands. Having it on your hands makes the trip to your face a relatively easy one, where it can enter your mouth and infect the body.

The public isn't alone in their dirty-hand problems. In fact, John Conly, an infectious-disease consultant who helped develop Health Canada's hand-washing guidelines, was cited as saying that between 20 and 30 per cent of physicians in one study didn't wash their hands enough, adding, "It's such a simple thing. If people washed their hands properly we likely would not have the superbug problems we have today, as far as transmission is concerned."

Dr. Reynolds was cited as saying that a recent study showed that people who do wash their hands are less apt to get illnesses throughout the year.

The problem in the Toronto-area outbreak wasn't that nurses and caretakers weren't washing their hands, rather that they weren't washing them properly. And poor hand-washing isn't easy to spot.

The story says that at a press conference discussing the outbreak in Durham region, Dr. Reynolds demonstrated how easy it is to wash your hands incorrectly. Miming how you turn on a tap, scrub and then turn the tap off with bare hands, Dr. Reynolds said it was key for people to use paper towel to turn the taps off, to avoid reinfecting your hands.

The experts generally agree on washing technique: rub your hands, including your oft-forgotten thumbs, under warm water with soap for 15 seconds -- about the length it takes to sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Dry with paper towel, and use the towel to turn off the taps. You're stuck if the washroom doesn't have paper towel. Most infectious disease experts prefer taps with a laser eye that turns the tap on and off automatically because that prevents reinfection. They also prefer liquid soap because bar soap can breed bacteria in the little pool of water on the basin.

"There are a lot of viruses, bacteria and parasites that can spread on your hands," Dr. Reynolds said. "People shouldn't be obsessive. However, it is the most effective measure for infection control, and probably the least recognized."

NOTE:  If you would like information on training sprout production personnel on proper hand washing techniques, or tools that can help you determine if they are properly washing their hands, please call your ISS salesperson.