▶ Essential to prevent flu infection… Wash your hands as often as possible
What is the best way to deal with a flu epidemic? Experts stressed that refraining from touching your face with your hands is a great help in preventing flu infection.
In a situation where ‘Triple Demics’ such as Corona 19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are being warned, experts advised residents not to touch their faces with their hands to cope with preventing disease themselves.
Dr. Ralph Gonzalez of UC San Francisco said, “The thing I want to stress most is to avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with your hands. It has been proven that it can be done,” he explained.
A 2015 study found that, on average, people touch their face with their hands more than 23 times an hour.
Experts said, “There are many people who frequently touch their face constantly, and their habits need to be checked deliberately to prevent disease infection during the winter season.”
Some hand viruses can survive on hands for several days, and people can become infected with diseases such as influenza and RSV by touching their face with contaminated hands.
In California, the flu risk level is ‘high’, the second of the levels defined by the CDC, and the flu risk is very serious. California’s latest positive flu test rate (from the last 12 days) was 14.7%, the highest compared to the same period in the last five years.
On the other hand, in the case of the COVID-19 infection, it is transmitted through the air, so the general route of infection is to spread the virus through other people’s sneezes and coughs rather than the virus on the hands.
Seok In-hee Reporter >
