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Illnesses caused by bacteria and viruses account for millions of lost school days each year. According to Thomas Sandora, MD, MPH, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at Children's Hospital Boston, "The best ways to avoid common infections are cleaning your hands and preventing exposure to the germs that cause these illnesses. Our research indicates that elementary schools should consider a few simple infection control practices to help keep students healthier."

The study, led by Dr. Sandora, was a randomized, controlled trial involving 285 third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students in an elementary school system in Avon, Ohio. Teachers in intervention classrooms used disinfecting wipes on student desks, and students used hand sanitizer in the classroom at key points throughout the school day. Control classrooms followed usual hand washing and cleaning procedures.

Researchers found absenteeism rates for gastrointestinal illnesses were nine percent lower in classrooms that followed the infection control regimen of disinfecting surfaces and using alcohol-based hand sanitizers. The absenteeism rate for respiratory illness was not affected by this intervention.

Gastrointestinal illnesses are extremely common for school-age children, and children can be at risk for these infections because of frequent exposure to ill peers and poor hand hygiene.(1) In fact, the bacteria and viruses that cause these gastrointestinal infections can be easily passed from one person to another on the hands.(2) The germs can also survive on surfaces in the environment, where some of them can persist for hours to days.(1)

The study involved a single elementary school system (classrooms located in two buildings) located in Avon, Ohio. Study funds, hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes were provided by The Clorox Company (Oakland, Calif).

1. http://www.itsasnap.org/snap/references.asp#6

2. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/faq.htm

Children's Hospital Boston is one of the nation's premier pediatric medical centers. Fundado en 1869 como un hospital para niños con una capacidad de 20 camas, en la actualidad es un centro integral con 397 camas dedicado a la atención médica de niños y adolescentes. Los valores de excelencia en la atención del paciente y la sensibilidad hacia las complejas necesidades y la diversidad de niños y familias son su fundamento. Children's is the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, the largest provider of health care to the children of Massachusetts, and home to the world's leading pediatric research enterprise. For more information about Children's, visit: www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom.