Good general hygiene is the best defence against all influenza viruses, including H1N1 (swine flu).
Most flu viruses are spread by inhaling respiratory droplets from the cough or sneeze of someone infected ir touching such respiratory droplets that land on a surface and then touching your eyes, mouth or nose. Some viruses and bacteria can live two hours or longer on surfaces such as tables and doorknobs and may remain infectious on hands for five minutes.
Frequent hand washing reduces the chance of contamination from these common surfaces.
Five steps to effective hand washing
1. Use soap (preferably liquid soap) and warm running water.
2. Rub your hands together vigorously as you wash them, counting to ten.
3. Wash the backs of hands, wrists, between fingers and under fingernails.
4. Rinse hands well with running water, counting to ten
5. Pat hands dry with a single-use disposable paper towel, single-use cloth towel or hand dryer.
At playgroup
Display reminder posters about regular hand washing for children and adults.
Use tissues rather than handkerchiefs, dispose into a closed bin and wash hands after nose wiping.
Encourage older children to wipe their own noses, dispose of the tissue and wash their hands.
Have a hand washing routine before snack time.
Regularly wash toys; babies and toddlers love to put all objects into their mouth as part of their exploration.
Accidents with young children do happen
To clean up any urine, faeces or vomit wear protective gloves and saturate paper towel in disinfectant such as White King or Domestos diluted (1/3 cup to 2/3 cup water).
Cover the spill, leave 10 minutes then transfer it into a plastic bag. Repeat procedure.
Wash the area with hot water and detergent.
Discard gloves into a plastic bag, tie up and dispose of in a closed bin or incinerate if possible. Gloves are not a total barrier against germs so hands still need to be washed carefully. Soiled gloves will still spread infection if they touch other objects.
Find out more
Good general hygiene is the best defence against all influenza viruses, including H1N1 (swine flu). Children and adults with flu-like symptoms should limit close contact with others, especially other children, and seek medical advice where necessary. For the latest information on H1N1 visit: