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WHO highlights hand hygiene in health care

Xinhua, May 6, 2016 Adjust font size:

The World Health Organization (WHO) urged all health care workers to increase safety through improving hand hygiene and reducing health care-associated infections, a UN spokesman told reporters here Thursday.

An estimated 8 million lives can be saved worldwide every year in hospitals alone by halting surgical site infections and other health care-associated infections, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here, citing information from the WHO, which provided the figures to mark Hand Hygiene Day.

Hand hygiene as part of an infection prevention and control program in all settings that support surgery, prevents patient infection and reduces an avoidable burden on health systems.

Hand Hygiene Day is observed every year on May 5 across the world.

The primary focus of this year's Hand Hygiene Day campaign is improving hand hygiene practices in all surgical services through the continuum of care, from surgical wards to operating theatres, to outpatient surgical services. Endit