Hygiene issues in the home, ,

There is a growing recognition of the involvement of the home in several public health and hygiene issues and of the need to promote effective hygiene practices for the home. Hygiene practice in the home includes the categories of personal hygiene, food hygiene, environmental or surface hygiene, and home health care. This article reviews some of the hygiene risks in the home, including the role of cross-contamination via inanimate surfaces and outlines hygiene strategies and guidelines for the home as a means of breaking the chain of cross-contamination. (AJIC Am J Infect Control 1999;27:S22-S25)