Hand Hygiene

• Hand hygiene is a general term referring to any action of hand cleansing to:
• Reduce the number of disease-causing microorganisms on hands and arms.
• Minimize cross-contamination (e.g., from health worker to patient).
• Hand hygiene is THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT measure to prevent transmission of infection and is the cornerstone of IPC.
• Hand hygiene can be performed by washing hands with soap and water or hand rub using alcohol-based sanitizer.