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Face masks, hand hygiene help to reduce the spread of respiratory illness during influenza A (H1N1) pandemic
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The use of face masks and hand hygiene may help reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses and may diminish the impact of the influenza A (H1N1) pandemic, according to results of a new study.
The researchers said these findings, published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, were important because during an influenza pandemic, vaccines and/or antiviral medications may be limited or unavailable. Simple measures such as hand hygiene and face masks could have significant benefits in helping to stop the spread of disease. The researchers said it was important for health care providers to understand how effective other measures would be in preventing influenza.
The researchers recruited 1,437 college students who lived in on-campus residence halls for this study. The students were randomly assigned to one of three groups: those who wore face masks, those who wore masks and used alcohol-based hand sanitizer or a control group who received no intervention. The study was conducted during the 2006-2007 influenza season. All students were monitored for influenza-like symptoms for six weeks.
The results demonstrated significant reductions in the incidence of influenza-like symptoms starting after three weeks in the hand sanitizer/mask group and in the mask group compared with the control group. In the hand sanitizer/mask group, there was a reduction of influenza-like symptoms ranging from 35% to 51% when compared with the control group. The incidence of symptoms between the hand sanitizer/mask group and the mask-only group were not statistically different, according to the researchers.
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