The importance of handwashing - 6 Minute English

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning

English. I’m Neil.

And I’m Georgina. I’ve got a puzzle for

you, Neil. Ready?

Sure.

OK. It’s a riddle. I’m as light as a feather

but no one can hold me for very long.

What am I?

Hmmm… as light as a feather but no one can

hold you… No idea. What are you?

Your breath.

Ah, yes, I see. OK, I’ve got one for you

- I’m so big I’m everywhere but so small

you can’t see me. What am I?

You’re everywhere but I can’t see you?

Hmmm, tricky… I give up.

The answer is – germs! With the outbreak

of coronavirus, people around the world have

rediscovered the importance of fighting germs

to stop the spread of disease.

In this programme we’ll be the discussing

the importance of handwashing in the prevention

of germs and viruses. And we’ll start off

by meeting the first person to realise that

keeping hands clean can really help prevent

diseases being passed on.

Ah… do you mean the19th century Hungarian

doctor, Ignaz Semmelweiss? He was

known as the ‘saviour of mothers’ for

keeping maternity

wards germ-free and he had a very interesting

life. But do you know what happened to him

in the end? That’s my quiz question.

Was it: A. He won the Nobel prize,

B. He ended up in hospital for mentally ill

people, or

C. He started the first company to produce

hand soap.

Dr Semmelweiss sounds like a scientific hero

so I’ll say, a) he won the Nobel prize.

OK. We’ll find out later if you were right.

What’s for sure is that Ignaz Semmelweiss

was a hero to Val Curtis, a director at the

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Here she is talking to BBC Radio 4’s

Science Stories:

Semmelweiss is kind of my patron saint.

Handwashing has been my life for the last

thirty years working on trying to improve hygiene,

mostly in developing countries and he

was really the first to identify the importance

of keeping hands clean in the prevention

of the transmission of infection. And

since the beginning of my career

working in public health I’ve been

trying to understand how diseases get spread

and what the best way of preventing it is,

and handwashing jumped out as being the most

important means of preventing infections,

particularly in developing countries.

Val’s work is all about improving hygiene

- practices for maintaining health and preventing

disease, especially through cleanliness.

And she was clearly influenced by the work

of Dr Semmelweiss because she calls him her

'patron saint' - a kind of guide and protector

believed to give special help or inspiration.

But Dr Semmelweiss is also a good example

of science communication. Getting the message

out so people understand the importance of

hygiene is difficult. And ‘wash your hands’

jumped out - or made a strong impact - as

a simple message to communicate.

Here’s Val again:

It wasn’t until we wrote a paper in 2003

that showed the evidence that handwashing

could save a million lives that actually people

started to take it seriously and handwashing

became a big important issue internationally.

So for me the lesson from Semmelweiss is:

don’t scream and shout and accuse people

of doing things wrongly but patiently get

the data out there and tell your story in

a positive way.

The idea that handwashing is an essential

part of hygiene is supported by scientific

evidence - the facts and information used

to show that a belief is true - in this case,

Val’s belief that handwashing could help

save a million lives.

So, handwashing has become an important

global issue - or topic of discussion - especially

in places without access to clean sanitation

and toilets.

Val also mentions that if you want people

to listen to your message, it’s better to

present the evidence in a positive, scientific

way instead of screaming and shouting - speaking

in a forceful or even angry way to convince

people you’re right.

Right, people don’t listen if you scream

and shout at them - they just think you’re

strange.

Which brings me back to today’s quiz question.

Remember, I asked you what happened to

Dr Semmelweiss in the end?

…and I said a) he won the Nobel prize.

Well, I’m afraid the answer was b) he

ended up in hospital for mentally ill people.

Today we’ve been talking about handwashing,

one of the single best ways to improve personal

hygiene - the prevention of disease by keeping

clean. Recently, handwashing has become

a top global issue - a subject or topic people

are thinking and talking about.

Scientific evidence - the facts and information

used to prove ideas true or valid - shows

that handwashing jumped out - or was easily

noticed - as one of the most important methods

to stop the spread of infection.

The work of 19th century scientist

Ignaz Semmelweiss was so inspiring that

even today, some doctors consider him

the patron saint of hygiene - an

expression referring to a protecting or guiding

saint believed to give special help or inspiration.

But communicating the message of

‘wash your hands’ to people around the

world is hard, especially if you just scream

and shout - or try to convince someone by

talking to them in a forceful or

argumentative way.

OK, Neil, the scientific evidence has convinced

me - I promise to make sure I regularly wash

my hands.

That’s all from us today but join us again

soon for more topical discussion and vocabulary

here at BBC Learning English's 6 Minute English.

Stay safe and remember to wash your hands!

Bye for now.

Bye!