Basic Barriers Might be Most Effective Against Pandemic Flu

GOLD COAST, Australia, Nov. 28 -- The best weapons to contain a pandemic avian flu, if one develops, might be the simplest, according to a systematic review.

Inexpensive physical barriers, such as regular hand-washing and wearing masks, gloves, and gowns, may be more effective than reliance on antivirals or vaccines in preventing the spread of the virus, Chris Del Mar, M.D., of Bond University here, and colleagues, reported in BMJ Online.

They reviewed 51 studies over four decades culled from the Cochrane Central Register (2006), Medline (1966 through 2006), OldMedline (1950 through 1965), Embase (1990 through 2006), and other databanks on the effect of simple physical means of preventing the spread of respiratory infections.

http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/GeneralInfectiousDisease/tb/7510