In recent years, hand drying has been highlighted as a key step in appropriate hand hygiene, as moisture on hands can increase the transfer of micro-organisms from hands to surfaces and vice versa. To understand bacterial and viral aerosolization following hand drying, and study the transfer of micro-organisms from hands to surfaces after drying using different methods. Groups of five volunteers had their hands pre-washed with soap, rinsed and dried, then inoculated with a concentrated mixture of and MS2 bacteriophage. Volunteers entered an empty washroom, one at a time, and rinsed their hands with water or washed their hands with soap prior to drying with a jet dryer or paper towels. Each volunteer applied one hand successively to various surfaces, while their other hand was sampled using the glove juice method. Both residual bacteria and viruses were quantified from the washroom air, surface swabs and hand samples. and MS2 bacteriophages were rarely aerosolized while drying hands for any of the drying methods studied. Results also showed limited, and similar, transfer of both micro-organisms studied on to surfaces for all drying methods. The use of jet dryers or paper towels produces low levels of aerosolization when drying hands in a washroom. Similarly, all drying methods result in low transfer to surfaces. While the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic raised concerns regarding public washrooms, this study shows that all methods tested are hygienic solutions for dry washed hands.

中文翻译：

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不同干手方式对周围环境的影响：病毒和细菌雾化并转移到表面

近年来，干手已被视为适当手部卫生的关键步骤，因为手上的水分会增加微生物从手到表面的转移，反之亦然。了解干手后的细菌和病毒雾化，并研究使用不同方法干手后微生物从手转移到表面的情况。五名志愿者组成的小组用肥皂预先清洗双手，冲洗并干燥，然后接种 MS2 噬菌体的浓缩混合物。志愿者进入空荡荡的洗手间，一次一个，用水冲洗双手或用肥皂洗手，然后用喷射式烘干机或纸巾擦干。每个志愿者将一只手依次涂抹在不同的表面上，而另一只手则使用手套汁法进行采样。从洗手间空气、表面拭子和手部样本中对残留细菌和病毒进行了定量。对于所研究的任何干燥方法，在干燥双手时，MS2 和 MS2 噬菌体很少被雾化。结果还表明，对于所有干燥方法，所研究的两种微生物在表面上的转移都是有限且相似的。在洗手间擦干双手时，使用喷射式干燥机或纸巾会产生低水平的雾化。同样，所有干燥方法都会导致表面转移率较低。虽然 2019 年冠状病毒病大流行引起了人们对公共卫生间的担忧，但这项研究表明，所有测试的方法都是干洗洗手的卫生解决方案。