Just a Little Soap and Water

As far as hand washing in concerned, the hundred thousand deaths per year that, directly and indirectly, can be attributed to nosocomial infections are a national scandal. It bears repeating here that eighty percent of all infections, from common colds and flu to Ebola, are transmitted by touch. The bottom line is that clean hands can be the most powerful weapons for health on earth.

Source: Tierno, Philip. The Secret Life of Germs. Simon & Schuster, 2001.