New report highlights critical role of hygiene in the fight against antimicrobial resistance and future pandemics

New report highlights critical role of hygiene in the fight against antimicrobial resistance and future pandemics

A new report launched by the Global Hygiene Council (GHC), an independent council of leading experts in hygiene and infection prevention, calls for urgent action to prioritise hygiene in home and community settings in pandemic preparedness plans beyond COVID-19. The GHC urges governments and policymakers to elevate hygiene’s importance to protect millions of lives.

The devastating impact of infectious diseases on society has never been more evident. As the COVID-19 pandemic shows signs of ending,^[i] the ‘silent pandemic’ of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is ongoing, with AMR recognised as one of the largest threats to human health.^[ii] It is estimated that, in 2019, the deaths of 4.95 million people were associated with drug-resistant bacterial infections.^[iii] If no action is taken to stop the spread of AMR, this could rise to 10 million deaths a year by 2050.^[iv]

The GHC report highlights the importance of home and community hygiene measures in mitigating the incidence of infections and prevalence of AMR.

Importantly, the report identifies four pillars for change:

• Build on the lessons learnt from COVID-19 by sustaining hygiene awareness in everyday settings
• Reduce infections and the need for antibiotics through hygiene practices in home and community settings
• Recognise the economic benefits of effective hygiene
• Drive behaviour change to establish strong hygiene habits

Microbiologist and Professor Emerita, Simmons University, Boston, USA & GHC Chair, Elizabeth Scott comments:

“The new report from the GHC is timely and provides tangible hygiene recommendations for change. We need to act now to safeguard public health - good hygiene is one of the most cost effective, easy and accessible solutions to prevent infections and save lives.”

The GHC Report draws on evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the efficacy of personal and community hygiene measures, such as mask wearing, handwashing, surface disinfection and social distancing, in reducing the incidence of infection.^[v] Although they varied across the pandemic, high COVID-19 infection and mortality rates have been associated with low adherence to handwashing.^[vi]

The beneficial secondary effects of increased hygiene practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside public health measures such as quarantine and social distancing, are now evident. Since the pandemic began, a decrease in the prevalence of other diseases has been observed, including cases of seasonal flu^{[vii],[viii],[ix]} respiratory syncytial virus and other seasonal respiratory viruses^[x] with a significant drop in the number of common illnesses in children.^[xi]

Scientists have now confirmed there is a ‘clear consensus’ that the reason why other respiratory diseases declined during the pandemic was due to human behaviour and hygiene-based mitigation measures.^[xii]

The GHC urges governments, policy makers and health authorities to adopt and implement the recommendations in the report when responding to existing and future infectious disease threats, including AMR.

[i] United Nations. UN News. The end of the COVID-19 pandemic is in sight. 2022. Available at: https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/09/1126621.Accessed: February 2023.

[ii] The World Health Organisation. News-Room. Antimicrobial Resistance Fact Sheet. 2021. Available at: Antimicrobial resistance (who.int) Accessed: February 2023.

ⁱⁱⁱ The Lancet. Antimicrobial resistance: time to repurpose the Global Fund. Lancet. 2022;399(10322):335. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35065769/

[iv] Tackling drug-resistant infections globally: Final report and recommendations. Review on Antimicrobial Resistance. May 2016. Available at: https://amr-review.org/sites/default/files/160525_Final%20paper_with%20cover.pdf

[v] Essack S. Water, sanitation and hygiene in national action plans for antimicrobial resistance. Bull World Health Organ. 2021;99(8):606–608.

[vi] Szczuka, Z et al., (2021). The trajectory of COVID-19 pandemic and handwashing adherence: findings from 14 countries. BMC Public Health, 21(1). doi:10.1186/s12889-021-11822-5.

[vii] Cowling BJ, et al. Impact assessment of non-pharmaceutical interventions against coronavirus disease 2019 and influenza in Hong Kong: an observational study. Lancet Public Health. 2020;5(5):e279-e288. doi:10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30090-6 Available at: https://www.thelancet.com/article/S2468-2667(20)30090-6/fulltext.

[viii] Hunter DJ. Covid-19 and the Stiff Upper Lip — The Pandemic Response in the United Kingdom. N Engl J Med. 2020; 382(16):e31.

[ix] Sakamoto H, et al. Seasonal Influenza Activity During the SARS-CoV-2 Outbreak in Japan. JAMA. 2020;323(19):1969–1971. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.6173. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7149351/.

[x] Groves HE, et al. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, and other seasonal respiratory virus circulation in Canada: A population-based study. Lancet Reg Health Am. 2021;1:100015. doi:10.1016/j.lana.2021.100015. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8285668/.

[xi] McBride K, et al. ‘You have to do what is best’: the lived reality of having a child who is repeatedly hospitalized because of acute lower respiratory infection. Health Expect. 2022; 25: 466- 475. doi:10.1111/hex.13408. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/hex.13408?utm_campaign=RESR_MRKT_Researcher_inbound&af=R&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=researcher_app&sid=researcher.

[xii] Hunter P. The return of the seasonal flu and cold: Other diseases are set to rebound as Covid-19 restrictions ease: Other diseases are set to rebound as Covid-19 restrictions ease. EMBO Rep. 2022;23(4):e54932. doi:10.15252/embr.202254932. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8982594/.