PR85464

LONDON, September 11, 2020 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

- According to the Global Hygiene Council's (GHC) public health experts,

following a risk-based approach to home hygiene is essential to help curb the

growing threat of antibiotic resistance

It is estimated that rates of resistance to commonly-used antibiotics could

exceed 40–60% in some countries by 2030.[1]  With antimicrobial resistance

(AMR) set to claim the lives of 10 million by 2050 if no action is taken,[2]

the GHC's experts are calling for a review of hygiene practices in homes and

everyday life to ensure that they are effective and appropriate to the urgent

public health issues we currently face, such as AMR and COVID-19.

In a new Position Paper developed by the GHC and published in the September

edition of the American Journal of Infection Control, the experts set out the

evidence showing that better hygiene in our homes and everyday lives plays an

essential part in tackling antibiotic resistance. Good hygiene contributes to

the fight against AMR in two ways, by preventing infection, thereby reducing

the need for antibiotic prescribing and preventing person to person spread of

infections which are antibiotic resistant.

The paper reviews evidence that to minimise the spread of infections in home

and community settings, a more focused approach to hygiene based on risk

assessment is needed. For example, removing infection-spreading germs from

high-risk surfaces and hands at critical times, such as when preparing food and

using the toilet, has been proven to minimise the spread of infections from

person to person. One intervention study demonstrates that improved hand

hygiene amongst a group of children in a day centre can reduce the need for

antibiotic use for common respiratory infections by 30%.[3]

As Professor Sally Bloomfield, public health expert and contributor to the

paper, explains; "Instead of deep-cleaning our homes, we urge everyone to

maintain this evidence-based Targeted Hygiene approach in our homes and

everyday lives, focusing on the times and places harmful microbes are most

likely to spread, to not only help contain the spread of coronavirus now, but

ongoing to help tackle AMR."

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Source: The Global Hygiene Council (GHC)