US class experiment shows value of handwashing vs viruses

A Science class experiment in the United States helped illustrate the value of proper handwashing in the fight against viruses.

The activity is especially significant amid the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak.

According to a report on Monday by Athena Imperial on State of Nation with Jessica Soho, students in the US used five slices of bread for their experiment.

One slice was left untouched and sealed in a plastic bag, the second was wiped all over a laptop, the third was touched by unwashed hands, the fourth was touched by hands washed with soap and water, and the fifth was touched by hands rinsed with a sanitizer.

After a month, the slice wiped all over a laptop had turned almost completely black.

The slice touched by dirty hands developed big black and yellow spots, while the slice touched by hands that had used a sanitizer exhibited the same discoloration but to a lesser degree.

The slice that was sealed and untouched and the one that was touched using hands washed with soap and water looked nearly identical.

“‘Yung hands kasi ang pinakamadumi because it's the one getting in contact with everything,” Dr. Leilani Sumabat from the University of the Philippines (UP) Institute of Biology said.

“Handwashing works by washing off the pathogen before it enters the body. That's the general notion… There is a correct way of doing [handwashing],” added Dr. Jay Lazaro, director of the UP National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology.

Lazaro said not all soaps and hand sanitizers possess the same level of strength against bacteria.

He said there are some viruses with stronger lipid membranes or outward covering that require stronger chemicals such as bleach, citric acid, or ethanol in order to break down. — Julia Mari Ornedo/BAP, GMA News