Wash your hands! Last week brought a Hepatitis A scare to campus. Hep. A, transmitted by hand-stool contact, leads to unpleasant, albeit short-term, symptoms of "jaundice, fatigue, abdomnal pain, loss of appetite, nausea, diarrhea, and fever."1 The spread of Hep. A is best prevented through thorough handwashing. While a 2005 observational study indicates that the vast majority of Americans in major metropolitan areas, 83%, wash their hands after using a restroom, there still remains 17% who, in not doing so, contribute to the outbreaks of diseases like Hep. A. And if infectious diseases aren't motiviation enough for you, think of how proud of you your mother would be for washing your hands.
1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Hepatitis A: Fact Sheet," Centers for Disease Control and Preventions, http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/a/fact.htm (accessed February 18, 2007).
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