Atishoo UK! Sniffly Britons are world’s worst flu-spreaders due to poor hygiene

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  • Britons are so cavalier about spreading infection the country could be wide open to an epidemic, say experts
  • Many people in the UK fail to follow simple rules like washing their hands or sneezing into a tissue

By
Jenny Hope


PUBLISHED:

23:16 GMT, 4 October 2012


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UPDATED:

23:17 GMT, 4 October 2012

Britons take fewer basic hygiene precautions against catching the flu than people in America, Mexico, Japan and Argentina, say doctors.

In fact, they are so cavalier about spreading or getting the illness that the country could be left wide open to an epidemic, claim the experts.

The warning comes after an international survey showed how individuals in the UK fail to follow simple rules such as washing their hands and sneezing into a tissue.

'Complacent': Britons fail to follow simple rules - like sneezing into a tissue - to avoid spreading the flu, according to new research

'Complacent': Britons fail to follow simple rules - like sneezing into a tissue - to avoid spreading the flu, according to new research

Just one in five tried to keep away
from people with flu-like symptoms and fewer avoided shopping centres or
sporting events during the flu season.
Researchers carried out surveys in the UK, the US, Argentina, Japan and Mexico soon after the 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic.

In
each country, around 900 people were asked how they had modified their
behaviour when there was a risk of catching the virus. Britons
consistently had the most careless attitude.

Flu
expert Professor John Oxford, a virologist at the University of London,
said the results of the survey by the Harvard School of Public Health
in the US, were ‘terribly disappointing’.

He
predicted that outbreaks of flu would be worse this winter than in
recent years, which made it vital for people to practise prevention.

He
said: ‘We have a lot to learn about avoiding infection.

'One explanation
is that we’ve become complacent because we think drugs will always be
available but it’s very likely we will get a novel infection at some
stage when it will be critical to do these basic things to stop us
getting it.’

People in the UK are so cavalier about spreading the flu that the country could be left wide open to an epidemic, experts claim

People in the UK are so cavalier about spreading the flu that the country could be left wide open to an epidemic, experts claim

The study was published in The Lancet medical journal.

In one typical response, one in four Britons questioned said that when swine flu was sweeping the country they covered their mouth or nose with a tissue more frequently when sneezing or coughing, or used their elbow or shoulder to catch a sneeze or cough.

This compared with 61 per cent of Americans, 77 per cent of Mexicans, 64 per cent of Argentinians and 48 per cent of Japanese.

Fifty-three per cent of Britons said they washed their hands more often, compared with 72 per cent of US citizens, 86 per cent of Mexicans, 72 per cent of Japanese and 89 per cent of Argentinians.

People from the UK were found to have been the least willing to avoid hugging and kissing during the swine flu pandemic

People from the UK were found to have been the least willing to avoid hugging and kissing during the swine flu pandemic

People from the UK were also the least willing to avoid hugging or kissing members of their family or friends during the pandemic.

Only 2 per cent of Britons said they followed this strategy, which was adopted by 46 per cent of Mexicans, 21 per cent of Americans and 19 per cent of Argentinians.

The question was not asked in Japan, where kissing is not the cultural norm.

Only one in five in the UK tried to avoid being near someone with flu symptoms. Fifty-six per cent of Americans, 53 per cent of Mexicans, 43 per cent of Argentinians, and 35 per cent of Japanese kept away from sick people.

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