Many pathogens are passed from hand to hand and from doorknob to doorknob, for example in the office. Frequent hand washing protects against smear infections, for example with gastrointestinal viruses. The Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA) points this out. But thorough hand drying is also part of it.
This year's theme for World Hand Hygiene Day is focused on recognizing that we can add to a facility's climate or culture of safety and quality through cleaning our hands.
Properly washing your hands, which is essential to your health, can be accomplished in about 30 seconds if you know the right steps to take - spread the word (instead of germs!).