It can also reduce cases of diarrhea and the skin infection, impetigo. The CDC has shown improved hygiene could save many lives, especially in poor countries.
Currently, about 27,000 children under the age of five die each day from preventable causes, mainly in developing countries. Pneumonia and other respiratory infections kill an estimated 2 million children each year; three-quarters of this number are less than one year old.
Because children in these countries do not have the same nutritional diets and access to healthcare, they are much more vulnerable to the high amount of pathogens in their environment.
Dr. Stephen Luby, lead researcher, and his colleagues with the CDC compared the affects of routine hand washing in 900 households in poor settlements in Karachi, Pakistan, over the course of one year; 600 homes received supplies of regular or antibacterial soap while 300, (the control group), received school supplies.
Results found incidents of pneumonia and diarrhea were reduced by half within families using the soap on a regular basis, with a 34 percent drop in impetigo.
The research is published in the medical journal, Lancet
Luby emphasized the importance of hand washing before prepping meals and eating, as well as after using the toilet and cleaning an infant.
