Self-reported hand hygiene practices among traditional health careworkers (herbalists) In Bungoma, Kenya

Abstract

Proper hand hygiene among heath care workers (HCWs) is known to reduce hand associated infections (HAIs) caused by transient flora. Using an interview guide as a tool for data collection, 30 herbalists (key informants) were interviewed to obtain information on how they maintain hand hygiene as they handle patients in Bungoma District, Kenya. Through an ethnobotanical approach, plants used as sources of herbal antiseptics were documented and extracts from the most frequently used species tested for microbial growth inhibitory activity against Staphyloccocus aureus and Escherichia coli. The results revealed that herbalists used diverse hand hygiene procedures, but the most common was hand washing with water and soap sometimes followed by rinsing with traditionally prepared herbal antiseptics. Unfortunately, about 6% of the respondents did not have any hand hygiene regime. Nine plant species were reported to be used as sources of herbal antiseptics but three were particularly popular: Rhoicissus revoilii Planch, tuber (Vitaceae); Microglossa pyrifolia Lam. (O.Kuntze), leaves (Asteraceae); Croton macrostachyus Del. bark (Euphorbiaceae). Water extracts of Croton macrostachyus showed inhibitory growth activity against E. coli as well as S. aureus, while Microglossa pyrifolia and Rhoicissus revoilii only showed inhibitory activity against E. coli and S. aureus respectively. Considering the number of respondents lacking any proper hand hygiene regime, it important to raise awareness regarding the importance of hand cleaning among the herbalists in this region © 2010 by The Japanese Society of Tropical Medicine.