Clean hands can help to fight antibiotic resistance

WHO is urging health professionals globally to remember that hand hygiene and infection prevention and control more generally are key weapons in the fight against antibiotic resistance. About 70% of health care workers globally do not routinely practice hand hygiene, and as little as 50% of surgical teams comply with hand hygiene best practice throughout a surgical patient’s hospital stay. The result can be antibiotic-resistant infections that cause serious illness and death

According to WHO, about 70% of health care workers globally do not routinely practice hand hygiene, and as little as 50% of surgical teams comply with hand hygiene best practice throughout a surgical patient’s hospital stay, adding that the result can be antibiotic-resistant infections that cause serious illness and death.

WHO says 1 in 10 patients get an infection while receiving care, more than 50% of surgical site infections can be antibiotic-resistant, and that effective infection prevention and control reduces health care-associated infections by at least 30%.