COLUMBUS, Ohio – As state health officials wait to hear if there are any cases of a troubling virus in Ohio, one expert says a popular prevention technique will not keep you or your children safe.
Timothy Landers, assistant professor at OSU’s College of Nursing says alcohol-based antiviral rubs, which have become popular and even fashionable, are no help against the enterovirus which has sent children to hospitals in several Midwestern states.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholar is a hand-hygiene researcher who operates a hand-hygiene center and lab. He recommends washing hands with soap and water for at least 15 seconds to help prevent the spread of the EV-D86 virus.
“The goal of soap is to remove the oils and the virus from the hands, not to kill the virus,” Landers said.
Landers also recommends using liquid soap as opposed to bar soap, which can harbor bacteria, and focusing on areas between fingers and the tips of fingers while washing, as these are often forgotten and can come in contact with germs.
So far Ohio has no confirmed cases of EV-D68, but the Department of Health is collecting samples from Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Rainbow Babies in Cleveland and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and a spokeswoman says the state Health Department “will not be surprised if the tests do come back positive for EV-D68.”
Nationwide Children’s is the only hospital right now that has sent in a sample to be tested to the department’s lab where they will be tested and forwarded to the CDC, health department public information officer Melanie Amato said.
“We want to make sure parents and children are taking the right steps in reducing this virus by washing their hands, avoid touching their eyes, nose and mouth and do not share cups or eating utensils with a person that is sick,” Amato said
The CDC reports 19 possible cases from Kansas City and 11 from Chicago have been confirmed.
EV-D86 causes mild to severe respiratory illness. There is no specific treatment.