Hands Up for Hygiene!

Riyadh, 29th, July, 2010: – More than 20 local children today participated in a fun and interactive session to learn about the importance of hand hygiene. The kids' session, organised by the Hygiene Council and Dettol, was held immediately after the results of the Hygiene Home Truths Study 2010 were revealed during the fifth annual Hygiene Council meeting at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The session was headed by Prof. Tariq Madani, Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Advisor to His Excellency the Minister of Health, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Prof. Madani involved the children in a number of fun activities such as games and team quizzes with colorful rewards.

One of the activities found to be the most interesting for kids was the Hygiene Hand Globe. The hygiene globe device exposed the germs on children’s hands before and after hand washing.

“We are very glad and proud to have held such a session. All the children learnt about good hygiene practices in a fun and entertaining atmosphere. We gave them proof of the existence of harmful germs using the Hygiene Hand Globe, and taught them how to destroy these germs. The children at today's session will set an example for their peers and help them to learn and practice proper hygiene techniques.

"The Hygiene Council is  committed to holding these kids' sessions as millions of children around the world die every year from preventable diseases. We can help diminish that number by providing children with the proper educational tools they need to protect themselves,” said Prof. Madani.

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For media enquires, please contact:
Zeina El-Hakam
ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller
Dubai - UAE
www.asdaa.com
T: +971 4 33 44 550
M: +971 50 877 3400
F: +971 4 3344 556

Further information please visit:
•    Reckitt Benckiser : http://www.reckittbenckiser.com/
•    Reckitt Professional: http://www.reckittprofessional.com/
•    Dettol: http://www.dettol.com/ and http://www.dettol.co.uk
•    Lysol: http://www.lysol.com/
•    Sagrotan : http://www.sagrotan.de/
•    Napisan: http://www.napisan.it/

Hygiene Home Truths Study details
The Hygiene Council visited 180 families across nine different countries who all agreed to take part in the study. Countries which took part were the UK, USA, Germany, Canada, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Australia and India.  All the homes selected had at least two children aged 10 or under, including one child under the age of two and were selected specifically to represent a cross section of socioeconomic backgrounds.

All homes in the Hygiene Home Truths Study were swabbed for both bacteria and mould; four sites for bacteria only and 2 sites for bacteria and mould.

In addition to the swab taking, the microbiologist noted how clean surfaces looked to the eye; providing a useful comparison between apparent and actual dirt levels. Participating families also completed a questionnaire to gauge their attitudes and perceptions towards hygiene in general and their cleaning behaviours.

The Hygiene Council
The Hygiene Council is an initiative bringing together leading global experts in the field of microbiology, virology, infectious diseases, immunology, and public health to formulate realistic and practical recommendations on simple hygiene measures to help the public improve levels of hygiene in the home and community and, in turn, help to prevent the spread of all kinds of infections.  

For further information, please visit the Hygiene Council website at www.hygienecouncil.com.  

The Hygiene Council members

·    Professor John Oxford (Chair), Professor of Virology at Bart’s & The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK
·    Professor Philip M. Tierno, Director Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, Professor, Departments of Microbiology and Pathology, New York University Medical Centre, USA
·    Professor Barry D. Schoub, Executive Director, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Johannesburg  South Africa
·    Dr. Sandip K. Ray, Immediate Past Secretary General, Indian Public Health Association, India and Professor of Community Medicine, Khaja Bandanawaj Institute of Medical Sciences, Gulbarga, Karnataka, India
·    Dr Narendra Saini, Head of Department Microbiology & Immunology and Chairman Hospital Infection Control committee, Pushpanjali Crosslay Hospital, Vaishali, India
·    Dr Christopher Lee, Head & Consultant Infectious Diseases Physician, Department of Medicine, Sungai Buloh Hospital, Malaysia
·    Prof Martin Exner, Managing Director, Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, University of Bonn, Germany
·    Professor Carlo Signorelli, Professor of Hygiene, University of Parma, General Secretary of the Italian Society of Hygiene, Italy
·    Professor Tariq Ahmed Madani, Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Advisor to the Minister of Health, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
·    Dr. Donald E. Low, Microbiologist-in-Chief at Toronto Medical Laboratories/Mount Sinai Hospital, Canada
·    Dr Kgosi Letlape, Immediate past Chairman of the South African Medical Association (SAMA) and the immediate past President of the World Medical Association (WMA), South Africa
·    Professor Dominic Dwyer, Clinical Professor, Immunology & Infectious Diseases, University of Sydney and Professor of Virology at Westmead Hospital, Sydney, Australia
·    Joe Rubino, Director Shared Services, R&D Laboratories, Reckitt Benckiser
·    Professor Eitan N Berezin, Head of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Santa Casa University Hospital, Sao Paulo, Brazil and President of the Infectious Diseases Committee of the Brazilian Paediatrics Society, Brazil
·    Dr Laura Jana, Board-certified paediatrician & parenting expert, USA
·    Dr Xuhui Zhong, Attending Physician, Department of Paediatrics, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China