Unwashed hands threat to public health – Scientist
NAN-HG-5
Contamination
Jos, Oct. 18, 2016 (NAN) Mr Solomon Chollom, a medical laboratory scientist with the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI), Vom near Jos, says unwashed hands are a threat to public health and major means of transmitting infectious diseases.
Chollom disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Jos.
He said that the situation constitutes a threat to public health as most people have failed to inculcate the act of hand washing in their daily lives.
He explained that the hand is an instrument of feeding and touching, and as such, oral contact with unclean hands may at times lead to the transmission of either infectious diseases or face and oral diseases, this is when infectious particles (pathogens) are ingested through the mouth.
According to him, this occurs when people involved with food preparation fail to wash their hands or fail to wash their hands thoroughly after going to the restroom and in the process of preparing the food the pathogens are transmitted to the food and then ingested.
Chollom further explained that the hand is used actively in public relations as such it is key in public health issues.
“Unwashed hands (dirty hands) are most times contaminated hands and a threat to public health, as many a times, people get to exchange handshakes immediately after leaving the rest room without washing their hands,
“and in that process various infectious and communicable diseases are transmitted to the other person’s hand and if the person fails to wash or sanitise their hands such invisible pathogens are ingested when such uses the hand to eat.
“Unwashed or contaminated hands of a public career means a grave public health challenge to the consumers of the food,” he explained.
Chollom further disclosed that unwashed or contaminated hands of medical personnel are a major source of nosocomial infections (hospital acquired infections which are caused either via viral, bacterial or fungal pathogens) such as urinary tract infections, respiratory pneumonia, surgical site wound infections, bacteremia, gastrointestinal and skin infections.
He called on people to inculcate the act of proper hand washing in their daily lives as it would drastically reduce the spread of infectious diseases. (NAN)
UBO/ASS/MST
Edited by Sadiq Adamu/Muhammad Suleiman Tola