Want to stop spread of flu, wash your hands - study

We can catch flu by various means - through coughs and sneezes, touching an infected person and also touching something that an infected person has come into contact with. All you need to do to get infected yourself is to touch an infected object and then wipe your face with your hands.

Hand washing would ‘break the chain', said Prof. Oxford. He said that over the past few decades we have become lax about personal hygiene. Unfortunately, microbes are using this route more and more to spread infection.

Prof. Oxford put the following in order of importance:

1. Hand washing.
2. Cleaning surfaces with disinfectant.
3. Cleaning equipment that is shared, such as tables, telephones, door knobs, desks and arm rests.

Read more: Want to stop spread of flu, wash your hands - study