Washing hands could save lives
Posted on : 2008-01-25

CALIBER, Nigeria, Jan. 25 (UPI) The simple act of hand washing could
save lives, especially in developing countries, a Nigerian study
suggests.

"It is difficult for people in developed countries to realize that
diarrhea is still a major cause of deaths in developing countries,
killing more children than AIDS and malaria combined," Dr. Olivier
Fontaine of the World Health Organization said in a statement.

The review, published in The Cochrane Library, analyzed 14 studies
that included eight studies in high-income countries that monitored
7,711 participants in institutions, five community-based studies in
low- and middle-income countries with 8,055 participants and one study
looking at the practices of 148 members of a high-risk group of AIDS
patients

The review, led by Regina Ejemot of the University of Caliber in
Nigeria, finds that interventions promoting hand-washing resulted in a
29 percent reduction in diarrhea episodes in high-income countries and
a 31 percent reduction in such episodes in communities in low- and
middle-income countries.

"Our review specifically assessed the effects of interventions to
promote hand washing and not the effectiveness of improving
sanitation," Ejemot said. "However, common sense would suggest that
there has to be water for hand washing to happen, regardless of
community awareness of benefits or willingness to wash hands."

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

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