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Hand sanitizer, respiratory hygiene education did not reduce flu in schools
Stebbins S. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2011; 30:000-000.
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Non-pharmaceutical interventions such as hand sanitizer use and education about respiratory hygiene failed to reduce the incidence of laboratory-confirmed influenza among students of public elementary schools in Pittsburgh, according to study results.
The trial was conducted in 3,360 children from 10 schools during the 2007-2008 influenza season. Children in five schools were trained in hand and respiratory hygiene and encouraged to engage in these practices. There were five schools in the control group.
Reverse-transcriptase PCR was used to test children with influenza-like-illness (ILI) for strains A and B. Fifty-four cases of influenza A and 50 cases of influenza B were detected.
The number of all laboratory-confirmed influenza cases — which the researchers noted was the primary endpoint — did not significantly differ between the intervention schools and the control schools (incidence rate ratio [IRR]=0.81; 95% CI, 0.54-1.23).
However, children in the intervention schools had significantly fewer cases of influenza A than children in the control schools (adjusted IRR=0.48; 95% CI, 0.26-0.87). The total number of absent episodes also was significantly lower in the intervention group than in the control group (adjusted IRR=0.74; 95% CI, 0.56- 0.97).
Non-pharmaceutical interventions “did not reduce total laboratory-confirmed influenza,” the researchers wrote. “However, the interventions did reduce school total absence episodes by 26% and laboratory-confirmed influenza A infections by 52%. Our results suggest that non-pharmaceutical interventions can be an important adjunct to influenza vaccination programs to reduce the number of influenza A infections among children.”
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