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New Research - October 2009
Hygiene measures and H1N1 influenza
Summary
Although we recommend face masks and hand hygiene for prevention of transmission of influenza, there are very little data to assess the effectiveness of these procedures. With this in mind, the authors of this study designed a randomized controlled trial of households in Hong Kong to assess whether or not utilization of these measures could diminish transmission of infection. They studied 407 people who presented with documented influenza A or B viral infections, and 794 household members in 259 households. The control group consisted of patients who were educated in lifestyle measures (134 households). This group was compared to a group who employed hand hygiene only (136 households), and another group who used surgical face masks plus hand hygiene measures (137 households). Sixty (8%) of contacts in the 259 households developed confirmed influenza viral infection in the seven day study period. There was a trend (which did not reach statistical significance) for hand hygiene with or without face mask to reduce the transmission of infection. The adjusted odds ratio was 0.33 [95% CI, 0.13 to 0.87].
The authors concluded that hand hygiene and face masks "seemed to prevent" household transmission of influenza virus.
Reference
Cowling B, et al. Face masks and hand hygiene to prevent influenza transmission in households. Annals of Internal Medicine 2009; 151(7):437-446.
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