Stomach bugs the number one concern amongst South Africans

Professor John Oxford, Professor of Virology at St Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, UK.

Global Hygiene Council survey finds South African adults are worried about infectious diseases but are we actually doing enough to prevent them?

A new survey conducted by the Global Hygiene Council has revealed that over three quarters (76%) of adults are concerned about themselves or their family contracting an infectious disease. The level of concern varies greatly between countries with respondents from India showing the most concern (95%), compared to 80% in South Africa and just 54% in Germany.

The survey of more than 18,000 adults across 18 countries, including South Africa has revealed that the biggest (30%) infectious disease concern across the world is seasonal flu. Despite this unified concern, the data from individual countries shows that infectious disease priorities vary widely across the world.

In South Africa the top three concerns are illnesses that cause stomach upset (e.g. E. coli, Campylobacter, Salmonella) (37%); diarrhoea and vomiting (34%); and seasonal flu (31%). Whilst the priorities in Nigeria are seasonal colds (49%); waterborne illnesses (e.g. Cholera and Typhoid) (44%); and skin infections (42%), in the US, the biggest concerns are seasonal flu (36%); staph infection/ MRSA (31%) and illnesses that cause stomach upset (e.g. E. coli, Campylobacter, Salmonella) (29%).

The objective of the Global Infection Challenge Survey was to gain insight into consumers’ concerns about the risk of infectious diseases/infections posed to themselves and their family at home and in the community. The survey also aimed to highlight consumers’ current knowledge of the relative severity of key infectious diseases/infections and identify the measures that they take to help prevent themselves and their family from picking up infections.

“The one common theme is the important role that hygiene is seen as having in all countries in helping to control and prevent the spread of infectious diseases,” says Professor John Oxford,
Chairman of the Hygiene Council and Professor of Virology at Barts and The London School of Dentistry. “Simple hygiene measures, such as hand washing with soap before handling and eating food and after using the toilet, and targeted surface disinfection are essential in helping to break the chain of infection.”

To prevent the spread of infectious diseases, 89% of South African adults say they ensure they and their family wash their hands with soap and water after going to the toilet and before eating and over three quarters (77%) of adults say they regularly clean and disinfect surfaces in the home (e.g. toilet and kitchen surfaces), demonstrating an understanding that good hygiene can help to prevent infection.

“Although people generally know that good hand hygiene is important, in reality they do not always practice it correctly,” says Professor Barry Schoub, Consultant to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases and Professor Emeritus of Virology and Communicable Diseases Surveillance, University of the Witwatersrand and a South African representative on the Global Hygiene Council. “Our studies have shown that 83% of adults say they intend to wash their hands every time they go to the toilet, but just 68% say they do this with soap and water,” says Professor Schoub.

Another Global Hygiene Council study, the Good Germs, Bad Germs Survey, questioned mothers in relation to potentially harmful microbes. Results showed that there is common misunderstanding about which microbes pose a risk to humans and which are harmless. Consumers were not always able to identify the harmful microbes, with 86% of mothers surveyed believing salmonella is harmful, and only 60% believing E.coli to be harmful.

Microbes in the natural environment can be divided into “good” and “bad” categories in relation to whether they have the ability to infect and cause harm to humans and if they are transferable via human-to-human, food-to-human, surface-to-human and animal-to-human routes.

“Harmless microbes, which do not pose a health risk to humans, occur naturally in the environment and even on the skin, mucosal membranes, such as the nose, mouth and in the human gut and genital tract,” says Professor Schoub. “Such microbes are often essential to enable the effective functioning of the various systems of the human body such as the digestive and immune system,” he confirms.

He points out that harmful microbes also occur in both home and community settings.
“The trick is to protect your family against harmful microbes, while enabling exposure to the harmless ones that are physiologically beneficial,” he says.

Professor Schoub believes that by practising targeted hygiene, including regular and effective hand washing with soap, and disinfection of germ hotspots in the home, consumers can minimise the risk of transmitting and becoming infected with harmful microbes.

“Infectious diseases, including respiratory illnesses like influenza and food borne illnesses, such as Salmonella, are regularly transmitted in the home, through improperly cooked food and via contamination from unhygienic kitchen surfaces,” he states. “So don’t be complacent about safety in your home – encourage thorough and regular hand washing with soap and ensure that food contact surfaces and commonly touched areas are cleaned and disinfected often.”