Handwashing as a tool against spreading of Salmonella

Commercial antibacterial liquid hand soap and normal liquid hand soap was compared in cleaning hands contaminated with Salmonella Infantis. Hands of 6 persons performing the test several times were contaminated with Salmonella suspension (approx. 109 cfu/ml). This test set-up was used to simulate a worst case situation. The test was performed based on standard EN 1499 Chemical disinfectants and antiseptics - Hygienic handwash - Test method and requirements (phase 2/step 2). The healthy hands of volunteers were dipped into Salmonella suspension for 5 s and dried in air for 3 min. The handwashing was performed with blind coded soaps according to standard washing procedure. Handwashing included 6 different movements and the duration of washing was 30 s. Thereafter hands were rinsed with running water for 15 s. Sampling with contact agar was performed before and after handwashing from palms, thumbs and finger tips. The cleaning effect of antibacterial soap was better in 23 out of 36 cases. The difference between normal and antibacterial soap was not significant. The difference between persons was notable. This means that one should pay more attention to the cleaning itself than to the type of soap used (antibacterial vs. normal). Neither of the tested soaps cleaned the hands of the test persons completely