British researchers have concluded that drying hands with paper towels was more effective against viruses than with hot air from a hand dryer.
Respect for barrier gestures is an essential bulwark in the fight against Covid-19. One of them is to wash your hands very regularly for at least 30 seconds. The health authorities have insisted: we must clean them with soap and water, respecting very specific gestures.
If washing your hands is important, it’s because they are the direct link between the surfaces and our face (door handles, stair railings, shopping trolleys, etc.). On average, an individual touches their face about 250 times a day, which is how they bring the virus to their mouth, nose, throat, etc.
Effective results in the fight against covid-19
Researchers from the university of leeds (United Kingdom) whose study was to be presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Paris claim that drying hands with paper is effective in removing germs still present on hands after washing. “We believe that our results are relevant for the control of the new coronavirus”they explained.
To conduct their study, the researchers recruited 4 volunteers whom they contaminated with a bacteriophage (a virus that only affects bacteria, not humans). The latter then wiped their hands with a paper towel or under a hand dryer (without having washed them beforehand to simulate poor hand washing) and touched several surfaces in a hospital. Samples were then taken from these locations.
Result: the affected surfaces were on average ten times more contaminated when the hands had been dried under a hand dryer. “Paper towels should be the preferred way to dry hands, to reduce the risk of contamination and spread”conclude the authors.
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