Health and Healthcare Systems

Handwashing is not just for coronavirus - how good hygiene could help reduce antibiotic use

A girl eats as she sits next to a handwashing station, while she sells fruits at the entrance of a medical center in Pikine, on the outskirts of Dakar, Senegal March 9, 2020. Picture taken March 9, 2020. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra - RC2RLF9CL1JQ

We must continue to promote regular handwashing, even after the pandemic. Image: REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

Charlotte Edmond
Senior Writer, Forum Agenda
Share:
Our Impact
What's the World Economic Forum doing to accelerate action on Health and Healthcare Systems?
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how COVID-19 is affecting economies, industries and global issues
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
Stay up to date:

COVID-19

  • Coronavirus put focus on handwashing, but basic hygiene is crucial to stopping a variety of diseases.
  • Home hygiene has big role in reducing spread of antimicrobial resistance.
  • Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health.

One in six mobile phones have faecal matter on them. Globally, people wash their hands after using the toilet roughly one in five times. An office work station has 400 times more microbes than a toilet seat.

Have you read?

Improved everyday hygiene practices not only slow the spread of COVID-19, they also play a crucial role in reducing the risk of common infections and driving down antibiotic use. Home and community hygiene needs to be included as part of plans to reduce hundreds of thousands of deaths a year from antimicrobial resistance (AMR), according to a new paper developed on behalf of the Global Hygiene Council.

According to the paper, between November 2019 and March 2020 there were 16,500 deaths linked to SARS-CoV-2; in this same time 258,000 people would have died as a result of AMR.

Discover

What is the World Economic Forum doing about the coronavirus outbreak?

Clean water, sanitation and targeted hygiene can significantly reduce the circulation of resistant bacteria in homes and communities, irrespective of a country’s overall social and economic development, the authors say. And while much of the focus on targeting AMR has been on measures by healthcare providers, there needs to be a reduction in the community. “We cannot allow hygiene in home and everyday life settings to become the weak link in the chain,” says the paper.

Coronavirus china virus health healthcare who world health organization disease deaths pandemic epidemic worries concerns Health virus contagious contagion viruses diseases disease lab laboratory doctor health dr nurse medical medicine drugs vaccines vaccinations inoculations technology testing test medicinal biotechnology biotech biology chemistry physics microscope research influenza flu cold common cold bug risk symptomes respiratory china iran italy europe asia america south america north washing hands wash hands coughs sneezes spread spreading precaution precautions health warning covid 19 cov SARS 2019ncov wuhan sarscow wuhanpneumonia  pneumonia outbreak patients unhealthy fatality mortality elderly old elder age serious death deathly deadly
The chain of infection in home and everyday environments. Image: AJIC

Home hygiene steps

Handwashing is one of the simplest and most effective ways available to prevent disease. Hands are the main carriers of harmful germs, and washing them with soap reduces the risk of diarrheal diseases by almost half.

While many pathogenic organisms die quickly, particularly on dry surfaces, there are others, including rhinovirus – the cause of the common cold – and norovirus – which causes diarrhea and vomiting – which survive longer. Places like kitchen sinks, sponges and cloths, which are often damp, can provide a breeding ground.

There are also certain household activities which are particularly likely to be linked to harmful microbial spread including food handling, using the toilet, changing nappies, doing laundry, caring for pets and disposing of rubbish.

Coronavirus china virus health healthcare who world health organization disease deaths pandemic epidemic worries concerns Health virus contagious contagion viruses diseases disease lab laboratory doctor health dr nurse medical medicine drugs vaccines vaccinations inoculations technology testing test medicinal biotechnology biotech biology chemistry physics microscope research influenza flu cold common cold bug risk symptomes respiratory china iran italy europe asia america south america north washing hands wash hands coughs sneezes spread spreading precaution precautions health warning covid 19 cov SARS 2019ncov wuhan sarscow wuhanpneumonia  pneumonia outbreak patients unhealthy fatality mortality elderly old elder age serious death deathly deadly
Among critical surfaces in the home, hands are the biggest culprit in spreading infection. Image: AJIC

Stopping the spread

Following basic cleanliness practices and limiting disease spread will enable doctors to cut back on antibiotic use and slow the development of drug-resistant strains. This resistance has developed largely as a result of over-prescribing and misuse of antibiotics, amplified by their use in farming. Poor hygiene allows resistant strains to multiply and spread.

Coronavirus china virus health healthcare who world health organization disease deaths pandemic epidemic worries concerns Health virus contagious contagion viruses diseases disease lab laboratory doctor health dr nurse medical medicine drugs vaccines vaccinations inoculations technology testing test medicinal biotechnology biotech biology chemistry physics microscope research influenza flu cold common cold bug risk symptomes respiratory china iran italy europe asia america south america north washing hands wash hands coughs sneezes spread spreading precaution precautions health warning covid 19 cov SARS 2019ncov wuhan sarscow wuhanpneumonia  pneumonia outbreak patients unhealthy fatality mortality elderly old elder age serious death deathly deadly
Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest health threats we face. Image: UK government

Antibiotic resistance has been identified as one of the biggest threats to global health, with a growing number of infections such as pneumonia, gonorrhea and salmonellosis becoming harder to treat as a result.

Loading...
Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Share:
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

Funding the future: Sustainable financing models to help the fight against antimicrobial resistance

Shyam Bishen

October 10, 2024

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum