Hygiene, empirical
2020-02-20 — 2020-04-06
Wherein common practices of handwashing, masks and surface measures are examined, and handwashing routines and particulate mask efficacy are empirically considered as means to reduce infectious disease transmission.
diy
health
1 Empirically effective hygiene
How do I avoid infectious disease? What is the best trade-off of robust-immune-health versus exposure to nasty pathogens? Do particulate masks do anything useful against disease? What?
I am no particular expert. Perhaps I can outsource my thinking on this issue to the useful obsessives on the internet?
- Ian M Mackay and Katherine E Arden on risk minimisation and quarantine prep
- jkaufman kicks off lesswrong-style quarantine preparations.
- On lesswrong, willbradshaw on handwashing includes such gems as a cost benefit analysis and flashcards on handwashing routine and a link to the WHO leaflet on handwashing.
TBD: Does covering things with copper help?
2 Hygiene instincts
How are we so bad at avoiding contagion? Are other animals any better? Keyword: “Disgust instinct”.
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3 Masks
See hygienic masks
4 References
Boyce. 2004. “New Insights for Improving Hand Hygiene Practices.” Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.
Curtis, de Barra, and Aunger. 2011. “Disgust as an Adaptive System for Disease Avoidance Behaviour.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
Davey. 2011. “Disgust: The Disease-Avoidance Emotion and Its Dysfunctions.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
ECRI. 2016. “Antimicrobial Copper Surfaces for Reducing Hospital-Acquired Infection Risk.” 63.
Fischer, Fischer, Grass, et al. 2020. “Low-Cost Measurement of Facemask Efficacy for Filtering Expelled Droplets During Speech.” Science Advances.
Mitze, Kosfeld, Rode, et al. 2020. “Unmasked! The Effect of Face Masks on the Spread of COVID-19.” VoxEU.org (blog).
Oaten, Stevenson, and Case. 2011. “Disease Avoidance as a Functional Basis for Stigmatization.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
Sarabian, Curtis, and McMullan. 2018. “Evolution of Pathogen and Parasite Avoidance Behaviours†.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
Taylor. 1978. “An evaluation of handwashing techniques.” Nursing Times.
Yasuyuki, Kunihiro, Kurissery, et al. 2010. “Antibacterial Properties of Nine Pure Metals: A Laboratory Study Using Staphylococcus Aureus and Escherichia Coli.” Biofouling.