Abstract
To evaluate the effectiveness of an intensive hand hygiene campaign on reducing absenteeism caused by influenza-like illness (ILI), diarrhea, conjunctivitis, and laboratory-confirmed influenza, we conducted a randomized control trial in 60 elementary schools in Cairo, Egypt. Children in the intervention schools were required to wash hands twice each day, and health messages were provided through entertainment activities. Data were collected on student absenteeism and reasons for illness. School nurses collected nasal swabs from students with ILI, which were tested by using a qualitative diagnostic test for influenza A and B. Compared with results for the control group, in the intervention group, overall absences caused by ILI, diarrhea, conjunctivitis, and laboratory-confirmed influenza were reduced by 40%, 30%, 67%, and 50%, respectively (p<0.0001 for each illness). An intensive hand hygiene campaign was effective in reducing absenteeism caused by these illnesses.
Highlights
The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the World Health Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries
The respiratory infections are treated by the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) as a separate cause group from infectious and parasitic diseases, and are to be distinguished from respiratory diseases, which refers to noncommunicable respiratory diseases
The years of life lost (YLL) measure is a measure of premature mortality that takes into account both the frequency of deaths and the age at which death occurs, and is an important input in the calculation of the disability-adjusted life year (DALY) for a disease or health condition
Summary
The GBD study classifies disease and injury, causes of death and burden of disease into three broad cause groups: Group I causes are conditions that occur largely in poorer populations, and typically decline at a faster pace than all-cause mortality during the epidemiological transition (in which the pattern of mortality shifts from high death rates from Group I causes at younger ages to chronic diseases at older ages). Among both men and women, most deaths are due to noncommunicable conditions (Group II), and they account for about 6 out of 10 deaths globally. The respiratory infections are treated by the GBD as a separate cause group from infectious and parasitic diseases, and are to be distinguished from respiratory diseases, which refers to noncommunicable respiratory diseases (refer to Annex Table C3)
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