Washing your hands is great, but it isn’t enough to stop the spread of influenza. Experts from the University of California-Berkeley, Mark Nicas (Environmental Health Sciences) and Arthur Reingold (Epidemiology) say handwashing is one of several ways to combat influenza. Other ways include not touching your face (eyes nose, or mouth) and staying home from school or work if sick.

Reingold says you’re more likely to get sick from influenza, especially the H1N1 virus, from airborne particles because inhaling the flu particles gives you a larger dose than by touching a contaminated object. And, according to Nicas, students at UC Berkeley touch their face an average of 16 times per hour. That is 384 times to transmit what ever is on your hands into mucus glands located in your mouth, eyes, and nose in one day.

Since influenza transmission hasn’t been studied as much as other viruses, like the rhinovirus, the best method of prevention remains unknown. Still, handwashing is a wonderful tool to use; we must remember other preventative ways as well. Stay home and away from others if you’re sick or you feel like you’re getting sick, don’t touch your face, and cover your nose and mouth with your elbow when sneezing and coughing.
 

Manhattan feels markedly different this fall. Returning to campus, I’ve seen Doug’s “How to avoid H1N1 and seasonal flu” in every bathroom in the veterinary medicine buildings. Everyone’s whispering about H1N1 and many preventative methods have been put in place to keep the flu at bay. At St. Isidore’s Catholic Church, they’ve even gone as far as to discontinue communion wine for the congregation. Chaplain Fr Keith Weber says that the decision was made by the staff and not mandated by the diocese. Will it be mandatory in the future?

Drinking the communion wine always felt like a bit of Russian roulette for me. How healthy was the person who drank before me? During the winter when the whole church was coughing and hacking, I decided to skip it entirely. I had accepted the fact that this public health nightmare would continue indefinitely. St. Isidore’s new policy of discontinuing communion wine is definitely a smart move to join the “avoid H1N1” campaign.

The policy for distributing communion wafers has always been to wash your hands before the service starts, but now there is also a bottle of antibacterial available to use immediately before giving out communion. St. Isidore’s is just one of many churches around the country (and globally) implementing these anti-flu strategies. The virus once known as swine flu has affected the practices of Christians and Muslims, especially in Great Britain.

The archbishops of Canterbury and York said the church's worship needed to "take into account the interests of public health during the current phase of the swine flu pandemic."

The Muslim Council of Britain has released guidelines to Muslims urging imams and mosque committee members to increase the awareness among the Muslim community about the dangers of using communal towels during cleansing ceremonies before worship.

As far as working against H1N1, it’s a good step in the right direction. Even once the pandemic has blown over, shouldn’t these practices stay in place to prevent future diseases?

In a six-hour meeting yesterday, Sunday, August 23, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Trevose, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the H1N1 flu vaccine was discussed. The main question was how to approach the public: “full throttle” and “go slow” options were debated. The meeting included watching videos about pandemics, vaccines, and the brief history of H1N1.

The vaccine would be taken on a voluntary basis regardless of the panel’s decision, but how educating the public, the benefits or risks of the vaccine, and possible mandating of the vaccine seems to be what most of the panel members are concerned with.

Prevention of H1N1 by handwashing did not seem to be a topic of conversation.

This meeting is one of ten that are occurring across the US. To read the full article, click here.

OK, I blog a lot about Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Maybe it’s because I’m away from home, but usually it just cracks me up to read what the local Sooites are up to this week. Regardless, The Sault Star reports that the local university and college campuses are preparing for September and potential outbreaks of H1N1 virus.

Since swine flu emerged in April, Sault College's health and safety committee started preparing a pandemic plan… Via e-mails and the school's dozens of "infonet screens" throughout the building, students and staff were also bombarded with information about prevention and containment through, for example, handwashing, sneezing into the elbow and staying in your room or home if not feeling well. As well, hand sanitizer dispensers were placed in high-use areas, such as computer rooms, cafeteria and workout areas…

[Algoma University] also plans to put up information posters and bulletins reflecting the latest from the World Health Organization and distributing hand sanitizers to every employee…

The confined quarters of university and college dorms can lead to illness outbreaks, and handwashing signs and sanitizer are OK for trying to promote hand hygiene – if the medium grabs your attention and the message is compelling. Dirty Finger Al (pictured), my favourite Food Safety Infosheet, did just that, sparking dialogue among food handlers. Will the handwashing signs in Sault College and Algoma U spark dialogue, or go unnoticed by students come September?