Hand washing with soap can reduce the number of pneumonia-related infections in children under the age of five by more than 50 percent, according to a study published in The Lancet. The research, conducted in Pakistan, is the first field study to show that hand washing can help prevent pneumonia, the leading killer of children under age five worldwide.
The study also showed that hand washing with soap significantly reduced the number of diarrheal infections, the second leading cause of death in children under age five. In addition, there was a 47 percent reduction in the prevalence of impetigo, a skin infection, in children who bathed daily with soap.
Soap Is Necessary
"Hand washing with soap is a something that is within the reach of hundreds of millions of at-risk families worldwide," said Dr. Stephen Luby, the study's lead investigator and a medical epidemiologist at CDC. "This research can be used by families worldwide to greatly improve the health and save the lives of their children."
Acute respiratory infections account for an estimated two million children's deaths a year. Nearly 75 percent of those who die are less than a year old. Approximately 5 to 10 percent of all children living in developing countries under the age of five develop pneumonia each year. When combined, diarrhea and acute respiratory tract infections, both prevalent in low-income communities, kill an estimated four million children under the age five each year.
"Many people, even in well-developed countries like the United States, do not realize that they should wash their hands with soap and water for at least 15 seconds, and that water alone is not as effective," said Tim Long, Ph.D., a principal scientist with Proctor and Gamble, which provided the soap used in the study. "Parents should encourage children to wash their hands with soap and water as long as it takes them to sing their ABCs."
About the Study
The study, conducted in Karachi, Pakistan, was designed to measure the health impact of improving hand washing and bathing with soap in low-income communities with highly polluted environments. The study examined more than 900 households in squatter settlements over a one-year period. Approximately 600 households received a regular supply of soap. Half received plain soap and half received antibacterial soap. A 300-household control group received school supplies.
Field workers visited all of the households weekly for one year. In the households that had received soap, the field workers encouraged the residents to wash their hands with soap. The field workers also recorded disease symptoms in all households. Teaching proper hand washing and bathing techniques to the study participants was a critical part of the research.
Researchers found that the incidence of disease did not differ significantly between the households that were given plain soap and those that were given antibacterial soap. The activity of vigorous hand washing with soap removes dirt and pathogens from hands, and is the primary factor in prevention of disease. |
