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Study sees rise in men not washing hands
The gender gap has widened when it comes to hygiene, according to the latest stakeout by the "hand washing police."
The gender gap has widened when it comes to hygiene, according to the latest stakeout by the "hand washing police." One-third of men didn't bother to wash after using the bathroom, compared with 12 percent of women, said the researchers who spy on people in public restrooms. They reported their latest findings Monday at a meeting of infectious disease scientists.
Two years ago, the last time the survey was done, only one-quarter of men didn't wash, compared with 10 percent of women.
"Guys need to step up to the sink," said Brian Sansoni, spokesman for the Soap and Detergent Association, which co-sponsors the survey and related education campaigns.
The latest findings were based on observations last month of more than 6,000 people in four big cities.
Frequent hand washing is the single best thing people can do to avoid getting sick, from colds and the flu to germs lurking in food, doctors say. And a recent Harris Interactive survey found 92 percent of Americans said they always wash up after using the bathroom.
But researchers for the American Society for Microbiology found that only 77 percent actually do, when it comes to public restrooms. That's a 6 percent decline from a similar study in 2005.
Nearly three-fourths of Americans said they always wash up after changing a diaper, 78 percent said they do so after handling or eating food; 42 percent after petting a dog or cat, 25 percent after handling money, and 34 percent after coughing or sneezing.
(Agencies)据“洗手警察”的最新“监测”结果，男女在讲卫生方面的性别差距扩大。据专门监测使用公厕人群的调查人员介绍，三分之一的男性上厕所后不洗手，而女性的这一比例仅为12%。该调查报告在本周一举行的一个传染病专家会议上公布。
而两年前的这项调查发现，只有25%的男性上厕所后不洗手，女性为10%。
赞助该调查和相关教育宣传活动的美国肥皂及清洁剂协会发言人布里安•桑索尼说：“男人上完厕所后不要忘了洗洗手”。
该项最新调查结果是根据上月对美国四大城市的6000多人进行观察后得出的。
医生建议，勤洗手是预防生病的最好办法，比如，可以防止伤风感冒以及远离食物内潜伏的细菌等。哈里斯互动调查公司最近的一项调查发现，92%的受访美国人称，他们上厕所后都会洗手。
但美国微生物研究学会的研究人员指出，真正做到的人只有77%，比2005年的一项类似调查下降了6%。
近四分之三的美国人称自己在换完尿布后会洗手，78%的人称在处理过或吃完食物后会洗手，42%的人在摸过猫狗后会洗手，25%的人在碰过钱后会洗手，34%的人在咳嗽或打喷嚏后会洗手。
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