A study published in the Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology found a World Health Organization-endorsed six-step hand hygiene technique using alcohol-based hand sanitizer gel is more effective at removing bacteria than a less complex, three-step technique that the CDC suggests.
Jacqui Reilly, PhD, professor of infection prevention and control at Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland, was the study's lead author.
Here are four points:
1. The average ratio of the bacterial level after the six-step process compared to before the six-step process was 0.33.
2. On average, the six-step technique washes away 67 percent of the bacterial load on a person's hands.
3. The median ratio of the bacterial level after the three-step process compared to before the three-step process was 0.65.
4. On average, the three-step process washes away 35 percent of the bacterial load on an individual's hands.
