Show of hands!

A date that can be counted on two hands: World Hand Hygiene Day on 5 May is not only of great importance in times of the pandemic. 

Hand hygiene is an almost inexhaustible topic, and not only in our company. Due to the pandemic, hand hygiene is finally receiving the attention it has always deserved. Hand washing or hand disinfection have always been important: in many people’s professional lives, to prevent infections every day, or simply to feel clean and reach for things without worry. 

World Hand Hygiene Day reminds us of all this. The World Health Organisation (WHO) launched it in 2009. 5 May as a date is easy to remember – after all, there are five fingers to a hand. Unlike Global Handwashing Day, however, 5 May is primarily aimed at people who work in medical or care professions.
For them, hand hygiene is a must. However, as hard as it may be to believe, this was not always the case: it took famous physician Ignaz Semmelweis (1818-1865) to declare hand hygiene compulsory in the medical field – to great opposition at the time.

Today, we all know how important good hand hygiene is. Hand disinfection, hand washing and hand drying with disposable towels – all these measures help prevent diseases and break chains of infection. At WEPA, we are proud to contribute to this.