HHS HealthBeat (January 01, 2009)

Masked and cleaned

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From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Flu symptoms go away, but nobody wants them to come. So how can you reduce your risk?

One way, of course, is to get a flu vaccination. But there are other things you can do, and they also may work against things that feel like the flu but are from other kinds of infection.

Dr. Allison Aiello at the University of Michigan, School of Public Health had some students who live in dorms wear masks and clean their hands with alcohol-based sanitizers. She compared these students to students who didn’t do those things.

[Dr. Aiello speaks] ``The results were really most apparent towards the end of the study, where we observed reductions in influenza-like illness symptoms of up to 50 percent.’’

The study presented at a scientific meeting was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: January, 27 2009