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India loses Rs 69,000 crore a year—more than twice the sum of Rs 34,488 crore it set aside for the country's health budget in 2012—to small infections. What's more, an estimated 38 crore of its citizens catch small infections with the result that they lose 162 crore workdays every year.
This is the shocking finding of a recent London School of Economics study that puts a question mark on its citizens' hygiene. The study was conducted in Mumbai and Delhi and the findings extrapolated to the whole of India. Small infections, including diarrhoea and skin ailments such as rash, blisters and prickly heat, as well as respiratory illnesses were covered. The respondents were also questioned on the direct and indirect costs for each episode of illness.
The findings say that every time a family member falls ill, it costs them an average of Rs 997 which over the course of a year, works out to an average of Rs 8,814 per household. Laddered up to a national level, everyday infections would cost the citizens a staggering Rs 69,000 crore.
These infections can be avoided with something as simple as washing hands with soap at critical times—before eating or preparing food and after using the toilet.
Dr Jayanti Shastri, head of the microbiology department at the civic-run Nair Hospital, said that washing hands may sound like a very trivial habit, but it is essential. "People should especially take care to wash their hands with a liquid soap or alcohol-based hand-rubs as soap bars are not generally a good option. We had conducted a study and found that soap bars carry on contamination as they house a lot of bacteria. Moreover, it is also the technique of washing hands that has to be taken into consideration. Fingernail beds and the space between the fingers are areas that have to be given more attention," said Shastri.
The study also found that two out of three episodes of illnesses among children aged 16 or less resulted in loss of three school days. Moreover, two out of three children between five and 15 experience one bout of infection every two months.
The Lifebuoy Cost of Infection Study was conducted in association with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in India, a department of the London School of Economics. The findings were shared in a hand hygiene awareness campaign by Nitin Paranjpe, CEO of Hindustan Unilever Ltd.
This is the shocking finding of a recent London School of Economics study that puts a question mark on its citizens' hygiene. The study was conducted in Mumbai and Delhi and the findings extrapolated to the whole of India. Small infections, including diarrhoea and skin ailments such as rash, blisters and prickly heat, as well as respiratory illnesses were covered. The respondents were also questioned on the direct and indirect costs for each episode of illness.
The findings say that every time a family member falls ill, it costs them an average of Rs 997 which over the course of a year, works out to an average of Rs 8,814 per household. Laddered up to a national level, everyday infections would cost the citizens a staggering Rs 69,000 crore.
These infections can be avoided with something as simple as washing hands with soap at critical times—before eating or preparing food and after using the toilet.
Dr Jayanti Shastri, head of the microbiology department at the civic-run Nair Hospital, said that washing hands may sound like a very trivial habit, but it is essential. "People should especially take care to wash their hands with a liquid soap or alcohol-based hand-rubs as soap bars are not generally a good option. We had conducted a study and found that soap bars carry on contamination as they house a lot of bacteria. Moreover, it is also the technique of washing hands that has to be taken into consideration. Fingernail beds and the space between the fingers are areas that have to be given more attention," said Shastri.
The study also found that two out of three episodes of illnesses among children aged 16 or less resulted in loss of three school days. Moreover, two out of three children between five and 15 experience one bout of infection every two months.
The Lifebuoy Cost of Infection Study was conducted in association with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in India, a department of the London School of Economics. The findings were shared in a hand hygiene awareness campaign by Nitin Paranjpe, CEO of Hindustan Unilever Ltd.
