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Hand cleansing at Heathrow and nine other hub airports could slash virus spread by 40%

Passengers wear face masks as they arrive at London Heathrow Airport  - AFP
Passengers wear face masks as they arrive at London Heathrow Airport - AFP

Improving hand cleansing facilities at London Heathrow and nine other major global airports could reduce the spread of the respiratory epidemics by almost 40 per cent, experts have said.

In a study published just days before China’s deadly coronavirus was first identified, researchers found that ramping up awareness of – and access to – handwashing facilities at 10 of the world’s most “influential” airports could reduce the spread of a respiratory pandemic by 37 per cent.

This figure could be as high as 69 per cent if applied to all airports worldwide.

Dr Christos Nicolaides, lead author of the report and professor at the University of Cyprus, said significant lessons from the study could be applied to the current fast-growing coronavirus outbreak.

The new disease has so far claimed more than 100 lives and infected some 4,500 people in China and 15 other countries – including the US, France and Australia.

“Airports and airplanes are highly infectious because they are close, confined areas with large, mobile populations,” Dr Nicolaides told The Telegraph.

“Viruses are spread through body fluids, so keeping hands clean at major transport hubs is central to control spread.”

The study, published in Risk Analysis Journal at the end of December, identified 10 major air hubs where improved hand cleansing facilities would have a disproportionate impact on stopping disease transmission.

These airports have a high volume of travellers but more importantly see planes depart to a wide range of locations across the globe every day.

London Heathrow is on the list, along with Los Angeles, Dubai and Amsterdam Schiphol.

Although airports in developing countries across Africa have introduced hand cleansing dispensers at strategic arrival and departure points to combat the spread of Ebola and other viral diseases, Heathrow and other major hub airports offer limited facilities.

This is despite hand good hygiene being the first line of defence against the new coronavirus and airports being a known risk for virus transmission because of the number of shared objects, such as security trays and passports, that are passed hand to hand.

The Word Health Organization and Public Health England both stress the importance of hand hygiene to contain the spread of viruses but PHE has taken no action at Heathrow or other UK airports.

A spokesperson for Heathrow told The Telegraph that little had changed at the airport despite the outbreak.

“We’re just an airport focused on the aviation side, Public Health England is responsible for protecting public health in the UK. But we already have extensive guidance for colleagues for hand hygiene and provide antibacterial liquids as our airport is busy every single day,” they said.

Dr Nicolaides said action should be taken to improve hand cleansing facilities.

“I’ve seen awareness of the importance of hand washing increase, but I haven’t seen other interventions strengthened. And while you can wash your hands in the toilets at most airports, believe me that these restrooms are some of the most contaminated places.

“So I think it would be an important step to have areas or stations in terminals where you can wash your hands without going near the toilets,” he said.

Previous research about how diseases spread at airports has warned that plastic trays used at airport security checkpoints are teeming with germs and bacteria that can cause respiratory illnesses, including the common cold.

Once on a plane, research suggests that the best place to sit is near a window and the worst is in an isle where viruses are spread on the hands of people walking up and down.

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