The spread of virus outbreaks could be significantly slowed if more people wash their hands at airports.
All epidemiologists know it:airports are public places at risk. Thousands of people from all over the world find themselves confined, at all times, to one and the same place. Viruses don't ask for that much.
Most then wait patiently on the bathroom door or on the button of a payment terminal for a careless person to pick them up hitchhiking. They then scatter with their host. Thus, a virus or bacteria present the day before in Paris can end up in Tokyo in no time.
A study published in 2018 in BMC Infectious Diseases had estimated which surfaces are most likely to contain germs in airports, and in what proportions.
For this work, carried out at Helsinki-Vantaa airport during the winter of 2015-2016, the researchers took swabs from surfaces frequently touched by travelers. In total, of the 90 surfaces tested, 10% contained at least one respiratory virus.
The surfaces most at risk were the plastic trays in which each traveler must deposit his personal belongings to pass through security. Half contained at least one virus (adenovirus – 20%, influenza A – 10%, rhinovirus or common cold – 40%, and coronavirus – 30%).
Furthermore, nearly 70% of the samples taken from a children's playground also showed at least one virus .
For this new study published in the journal Risk Analysis , researchers wanted to know what was the most effective way to slow the spread of these germs in airports. They then focused on the 120 most influential airports in the spread of disease. And unsurprisingly, there is no substitute for good hand washing.
Indeed, this work shows that better hand hygiene in just ten of these international airports could potentially slow the spread of a contagious disease by 37% .
Interestingly, they found that an airport's location was a more important factor than its generated traffic. Tokyo and Honolulu, for example, are not the busiest airports. On the other hand, their strategic location makes them preferred exchangers for pathogens which internationalize from these points.
For researchers, the implementation of relatively simple means could promote hygiene in airports. This could include posting informative posters or communicating the risks of spreading germs on social networks.
And there is work. As they recall; “70% of people who go to the bathroom wash their hands afterwards. The remaining 30% do not. And of those who do, only 50% do it correctly ". That's actually a lot of dirty hands in the end!
Source
Related articles:
