008 Hand Washing: So Important, It Gets a Day Of Its Own

Hand Washing: So Important, It Gets a Day Of Its Own

 

Rub it into all areas, including under the fingernails. Rub for at least 20 seconds. Then, rinse well under running water. Finally, dry your hands with a clean cloth or wave them in the air.

 

The Partnership for Handwashing says soap is important because it increases the time that people spend washing. Soap also helps to break up the grease and dirt that hold most of the germs. And it usually leaves a pleasant smell, which increases the likelihood that people will wash again.

 

The partnership says washing with soap before eating and after using the toilet could save more lives than any vaccine or medicine. It could help reduce cases of diarrhea by almost half. And it could reduce deaths from pneumonia and other breathing infections by 1/4.

 

Diarrhea is the second leading cause of child deaths, killing more than 1,500,000 children a year. Pneumonia is the leading cause, killing about 2,000,000 children under 5 each year. Hand washing can also prevent the spread of other diseases. When people get germs on their hands, they can infect themselves by touching their eyes, nose or mouth. Then they can infect others.

参考译文：
把肥皂搓遍手的各个地方，包括指甲下面。至少搓洗20秒。然后，用自来水好好冲洗。最后用一块干净的布擦干或在空气中甩干。
洗手合作项目称肥皂很重要，因为它增加了人们洗手的时间。肥皂也有助于去除藏有大量细菌的油脂和泥垢。另外，肥皂通常留下怡人的香味，这就增加了人们再次洗手的可能性。

（洗手）合作项目还说，吃东西前和如厕后洗手拯救的性命比任何疫苗和药物都要多。这样做可有助于减少近一半的腹泻病例， 也可以减少肺炎和其它呼吸感染引起的死亡人数的1/4。

腹泻是儿童死亡第2个主要病因，每年夺去150万儿童的性命。肺炎是（儿童死亡的）最重要的病因，每年夺去近200万5岁以下儿童的性命。洗手也可以预防其它疾病的传播。一旦手上感染了细菌，人们就会因为碰触眼睛、鼻子或嘴让自己感染。接着，又会传染别人。