Chook alert!

How clean are your hands?

Eating out of the palm of your hands

The tradition of hand washing before meals dates back thousands of years. Before the first century, in the Middle East, it was considered ritually unclean for a person to eat before washing his hands.

US experts say plain soap works fine to rid germs

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Proper washing with regular soap and water works just fine to prevent the spread of germs and there is no clear evidence that antibacterial soaps, wipes and other products are any better, scientists told a U.S. advisory panel on Thursday.

Beware of the superbug

MRSA is an acronym for Methicillin Resistant I>Staphylococcus aureus/I(it is also sometimes referred to as MERSA), and it is an antibiotic resistant superbug that grows in clusters, multiplies very rapidly and can cause many different kinds of infections, ranging from simple skin infections (boils, furuncles) to septicaemia (blood poisoning) and toxic shock syndrome.

Be prepared

If you live in an area where the most disastrous thingthat can happen involves being stuck in a traffic jam orspilling coffee on your shirt, there's really no reason topack a disaster evacuation kit. However, if Murphy's Lawis to be believed, disasters are coming, like it or not (andyou better be prepared.)

Look ma, clean hands

Good hygiene is essential to break the chain of infection in influenza.

Masks for schoolchildren

THE Hulu Langat MCA division embarked on a mask distribution exercise last Thursday, targeting national-type schools in the district in Selangor, with the aim of increasing awareness on A(H1N1) among the students.

Schools to get masks and sanitisers

IPOH: Schools can expect to get their hand sanitisers, masks and thermometers this week.

Patients complain that they are refused throat swabs

KUALA LUMPUR: Some people with flu-like symptoms are complaining that their request for throat swabs were turned down by hospitals.