Masks, hand washing, prevent spread of flu

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Wearing masks and using alcohol-based hand sanitizers may prevent the spread of flu by as much as 50 percent, University of Michigan researchers said.

The researchers at the University of Michigan School of Public Health studied more than 1,000 student subjects from seven university residence halls during last year's flu season.

"The first-year results -- 2006-2007 -- indicate that mask use and alcohol-based hand sanitizer help reduce influenza-like illness rates, ranging from 10 percent to 50 percent over the study period," co-principal investigator Allison Aiello said in a statement.

However, Aiello stressed the first year of the two-year project was a very mild flu season and only a few cases were positive for flu, so results should be interpreted cautiously.

"Nevertheless, these initial results are encouraging since masks and hand hygiene may be effective for preventing a range of respiratory illnesses," Aiello said.

During the study, participants were randomly assigned to six weeks of wearing a standard medical procedure mask alone or mask and hand sanitizer use, with a control group using no intervention. Researchers followed students for incidence of influenza-like illness symptoms.

The findings were presented at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy/Infectious Diseases Society of America annual meeting in Washington.