RESIDUAL MOISTURE DETERMINES THE LEVEL OF TOUCH-CONTACT-ASSOCIATED BACTERIAL TRANSFER FOLLOWING HAND-WASHING

We report here a new and critical determinant of the effectiveness of hand hygiene procedures, namely the amount of residual moisture left o n the hands after washing and drying. When samples of skin, food and u tilities were touched with wet, undried hands, microbial numbers in th e order of 68000, 31000 and 1900 respectively translocated to these re presentative surfaces. Bacterial numbers translocating on touch contac t 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, fo od 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 transl ocation associated with wet hands. Careful hand drying is a critical f actor determining the level of touch-contact-associated bacterial tran sfer after hand washing and its recognition could make a significant c ontribution towards improving handcare practices in clinical and publi c health sectors.