By Esenvosa Izah
Lagos – Two medical practitioners on Saturday called on Nigerians not to wait until disease outbreak before imbibing the culture of regular hand washing.
They gave the advice while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos ahead of the commemoration of the 2017 Global Hand washing Day which holds on Oct. 15.
The theme of this year’s event is, “Our Hands, Our Future. “
A Consultant Microbiologist, Dr Bamidele Mutiu, told NAN that hand washing would reduce transmission of infectious diseases by over 90 per cent.
Mutiu, who works at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, said that the outbreak of monkey pox should be a clarion call for Nigerians to adhere to regular and proper hand washing.
“We should not wait until there is a disease outbreak before we imbibe the culture of washing our hands regularly.
“It should be part of us as a people to wash our hands at all times; before we eat, after using the toilet, or when we get back home from work or other places.
“Washing our hands helps to prevent infections by more than 90 per cent, and it is a very simple preventive measure that can save lives, “ he said.
A public health physician at a Lagos-based private hospital, Dr Sabrina Duru, urged parents to teach their children to wash hands regularly.
Duru said: “Children should be trained at a very early age to wash their hands regularly so that it becomes part of them when they grow up.
“Hand washing should be natural to us, especially as we live in an environment filled with infectious diseases.
“We have the habit as a country to wait for diseases to occur before we are reminded to wash our hands,’’ she said.
The physician noted that many Nigerians took to observing good hygiene during the Ebola crisis “because nobody wanted to die’’.
“Let us imbibe the culture of washing our hands whether there is a outbreak of disease or not,” he said.
NAN reports that the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, on Oct. 11 confirmed that 33 suspected cases of monkey pox had so far been recorded in seven states of the federation. (NAN)