Comparison of cloth, paper, and warm air drying in eliminating viruses and bacteria from washed hands.

We compared the efficiency of paper, cloth, and electric warm air drying in eliminating rotaviruses and Escherichia coli remaining on finger pads washed with 70% isopropanol, a medicated liquid soap, an unmedicated liquid soap, or tap water alone. The contaminated area on the finger pads of a volunteer was exposed to the hand-washing agent for 10 seconds and then rinsed in 40 degrees C tap water. The washed areas were dried for 10 seconds by one of the three methods.

In vivo protocol for testing efficacy of hand-washing agents against viruses and bacteria: experiments with rotavirus and Escherichia coli.

Ten antiseptic formulations, an unmedicated liquid soap, and tap water alone were compared for their capacities to eliminate human rotavirus from the finger pads of adult volunteers; three of the antiseptics, the soap, and the tap water alone were also tested against Escherichia coli. A fecal suspension of virus or bacterium was placed on each finger pad and air dried. The contaminated site was exposed to the test product for 10 s, rinsed in tap water, and dried on a paper towel.

Rotavirus survival on human hands and transfer of infectious virus to animate and nonporous inanimate surfaces.

We tested the survival of the Wa strain of human rotavirus on the hands of volunteers and also studied infectious virus transfer between animate and inanimate (stainless steel disks) surfaces. The virus was diluted in a 10% suspension of feces, and 10 microliters (1 X 10(3) to 4 X 10(4) PFU) was placed on each of the four fingerpads of the left hand. One milliliter of 20% tryptose phosphate broth in Earle balanced salt solution was used for virus elution from each fingerpad, and the hands were disinfected with 70% ethanol before they were washed with an antiseptic soap and water.