HANDWASHING AT AIRPORTS MAY CHECK DISEASE

Boston, Feb. 10: Improving the rates of handwashing by travellers passing through just 10 of the world’s leading airports could significantly reduce the spread of many infectious diseases, including the novel coronavirus, according to a study.

The greater the improvement in people’s handwashing habits at airports, the more dramatic the effect on slowing the disease, said researchers, including those from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US. The findings, which deal with infectious diseases in general, including the flu, were published late December, just before the recent coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan. However, the study, published in the journal Risk Analysis, could apply to any such disease, and are relevant to the current outbreak.