We report here a new and critical determinant of the effectiveness
of
hand hygiene procedures,
namely the amount of residual moisture left on the hands after washing
and
drying. When
samples of skin, food and utilities were touched with wet, undried hands,
microbial numbers in
the order of 68000, 31000 and 1900 respectively translocated to these
representative surfaces.
Bacterial numbers translocating on touch contact decreased progressively
as
drying with an air
or cloth towel system removed residual moisture from the hands. A 10 s
cloth towel–20 s air
towel protocol reduced the bacterial numbers translocating to skin,
food and utilities on touch
contact to 140, 655 and 28 respectively and achieved a 99·8, 94
and
99% reduction in the level
of bacterial translocation associated with wet hands. Careful hand drying
is a critical factor
determining the level of touch-contact-associated bacterial transfer
after hand washing and its
recognition could make a significant contribution towards improving
handcare practices in clinical and public health sectors.