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Masks and hand hygiene could cut the spread of flu-like symptoms upto 75 percent, a University of Michigan study found. A new report shows the second-year results (2007-2008) of theground-breaking U-M M-Flu study found up to a 75 percent reductionin flu-like illness over the study period when using hand hygieneand wearing surgical masks in residence halls, said Allison Aiello,associate professor of epidemiology in the U-M School of PublicHealth. Aiello and Dr. Arnold Monto, SPH professor of epidemiology,are co-principal investigators of the M-Flu study. While the study also showed a 43 percent reduction in the rate of flu , it wasn't statistically significant. Students were more likely toreport influenza-like symptoms than to provide laboratory samplesfor confirmed cases, Aiello said. "This might have impacted ourpower for detecting significant differences in confirmed flu," shesaid. The results from both years found no significant reduction insymptoms in mask use alone, which suggests masks and hand hygieneshould be used together, she said. At the beginning of a pandemic, vaccines probably won't beavailable immediately so one of the first lines of defense to stopthe spread of illness will be non-pharmaceutical interventions likehand hygiene and face masks. The M-Flu results bode well for thesetypes of non-pharmaceutical interventions in the community settingfor pandemic preparedness, Aiello said. "This means masks and hand hygiene may be a good measure forpreventing transmissions in crowded living quarters," said Aiello."In a pandemic situation where compliance may be significantlyhigher than in controlled studies, masks and hand hygiene togethermay have even higher preventative implications." The M-Flu study was the first of its kind and receivedinternational exposure when launched in 2006. The team of M-Fluresearchers recruited more than 1,000 students in U-M residencehalls. The students were assigned to groups who wore masks, woremasks and practiced hand hygiene, or did neither. They weremonitored for the presence of flu symptoms or the flu. The study was the first to test the effectiveness of these measuresfor primary prevention before people become sick or exhibitedsymptoms in the university setting, Monto said. "Ultimately, this research could help the development of nationalpolicies for pandemic preparedness," Monto said. The goal of M-Flu was to estimate the reduction in rate of fluinfection and illness attributed to masks and hand sanitizers, andmasks alone during two flu seasons. The results in year two weresimilar to year one with substantial reductions in flu-likesymptoms. Students in both studies were asked to wear masks in theresidence halls for six hours per day and clean their hands with analcohol based hand sanitizer in addition to soap and water handwashing. The group is planning another study involving campus residencehalls, this time to evaluate the effect of voluntary sequestrationon the flu in residence halls. Details and a timeline for thatstudy are not available yet. Additional References Citations. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Turbocharger Oil Pump , Air Inlet Casing Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit Turbocharger Nozzle Ring today!
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