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Infectious Diseases
Handwashing 

1. Decontaminate hands directly after every activity or contact that potentially results in hands being contaminated. Hands should also be decontaminated after removing gloves.

2. Wash hands with soap and water if visibly soiled or potentially contaminated with dirt or organic material.
 
Effective hand washing technique involves three stages:

Preparation: Wet hands with running water.
 
Washing and rinsing:
  • Apply liquid soap or an antimicrobial preparation ensuring contact with all surfaces of your hand.
  • Rub hands together vigorously for 15 seconds, including the tips of the fingers, the thumbs and the areas between the fingers.
  • Rinse hands thoroughly.  
Drying: Use with good quality paper towels.

3. Alcohol-based hand rub should be used to decontaminate visibly clean hands (see 1 and 2).
  • Ensure hand-rub has contact with all surfaces of your hand (see 2).
  • Rub hands together vigorously until the solution has evaporated and the hands are dry (about 15 seconds).
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