Singapore, one of cleanest nations in Southeast Asia, launched on Monday a campaign to teach people how to wash their hands properly to help curb the spread of disease.
The campaign was planned before governments around the world moved to contain the spread of the swine flu virus, which has so far killed 103 people in Mexico, and spread to the United States and possibly as far as New Zealand.
Leading public hospital Tan Tock Seng kicked off the "CSI" or clean, safe, infection-free campaign with a lucky draw that gives thorough hand-washers the chance to win a sports car, a plasma TV or shopping vouchers.
"Good hand hygiene is crucial in stemming the spread of infections and there is no reason why the public should not learn the seven steps to hand washing practiced by medical professionals," said Chng Hiok Hee, a doctor at the hospital and the head of the two-month-long campaign.
The seven handwashing steps include interlacing your fingers and rubbing your hands together, rubbing your thumbs and wrists, and rubbing your fingertips on your palms, to clean all areas.
Like other nations in Asia, Singapore, which was hit hard by the 2003 SARS respiratory virus epidemic, is on alert for swine flu, stepping up precautionary measures by putting thermal scanners at its airport to check the temperatures of travelers.
Influenza can spread from coughs or sneezes, but an increasing body of evidence shows little particles of virus can linger on tabletops, telephones and other surfaces and be transferred via the fingers to the mouth, nose or eyes.
Little can be done to prevent an outbreak of flu from spreading, health experts caution, but they say common sense measures can help individuals protect themselves and the number one action is handwashing.
東南亞最講究清潔的國家之一新加坡於本周一發起了一項教國民如何正確洗手的運動，以防止疾病的傳播。
該活動計劃於世界各地政府紛紛採取措施控制豬流感病毒蔓延之前。迄今為止，豬流感已造成墨西哥103人死亡，並且蔓延至美國，可能還會傳播至紐西蘭。
這項以CSI（清潔、安全、無感染）為主題的活動由新加坡大型公立醫院陳篤生醫院發起。洗手乾淨徹底者可參加幸運抽獎，有機會贏得跑車、等離子電視或購物券等獎品。
該活動將為期兩個月，該醫院負責該活動的Chng Hiok He醫生說：「良好的手部衛生對於預防病毒傳播十分關鍵，公眾沒有理由不去學習醫學專業人士所遵行的七步洗手法。」
「七步洗手法」的步驟包括：交叉手指，揉搓雙手，揉搓拇指和手腕，在手掌上揉搓指尖，最後清洗所有區域。
與亞洲其它國家一樣，新加坡正高度警戒豬流感疫情，並已加強預防措施，如在機場安裝體溫檢測儀，檢查來往旅客的體溫。新加坡於2003年遭遇了非典（SARS）的重襲。
流感可通過咳嗽和打噴嚏傳播，但越來越多的證據表明微小的病毒顆粒會殘留在桌面、電話和其它物體的表面，然後通過手指向嘴、鼻子和眼部傳播。
衛生專家警告稱，沒有什麼好的辦法可預防流感傳播，但掌握一些預防常識可幫助人們自我保護，其中第一大措施就是洗手。