Monitoring the Effectiveness of a Pre‐School Hand Hygiene Intervention Using Flow Cytometry to Determine the Reduction in Microbiological Counts

Hand hygiene (HH) related illnesses, such as diarrhea, are one of the leading causes of death in children under 5, whereas handwashing with soap can reduce infection rates in this age group. This study monitored whether a simple intervention in the form of a hand washing exercise, could reduce pathogens on preschool children’s hands, poten-tially reducing HH-related diseases. Hand bag-wash samples were collected from pre-school children (N=160) participating in an intervention study. Samples were collected pre- and post-intervention from the intervention (IG) and control groups (CG). Sam-ples were analysed using flow cytometry, where microbiological counts and turbidity were compared between left and right hands, between genders, and pre- and post-intervention groups. Results indicated no significant difference in the microbio-logical counts of left and right hands or between the gender of participants, with a sig-nificant reduction in intact live cells of IG children’s hands post-intervention (p=0.000). There was a significant positive correlation (p=0.000) between turbidity pre- and post-hand washing, with a decreased mean in turbidity recorded for both groups. Handwashing either with or without soap reduced microbiological counts on pre-schoolers hands. Reinforcing handwashing at critical times and correct hand-washing procedures can assist in reducing hand hygiene-related diseases in preschool children.