Hand sanitation for visitors and employees

Hand sanitation is a critical part of biosecurity when making visits to poultry ranches. Human visitors are a necessary part of a poultry production facility, whether they are the flock veterinarian, a feed truck driver or an inspector. They all have to come onto the farm.

Whenever possible, traffic control should be used to limit visitor contact with birds (see Innovative ways to control traffic on the farm for tips). However, sometimes that is not possible. When people enter chicken houses, it is essential that they disinfect their hands; but hand sanitation upon entry to any of the production facilities is highly recommended for all visitors.

Hand washing is the best method of hand sanitation, because all organic material can be completely removed. Most hand soaps work well if they are applied to all surfaces of the hand and allowed to form foamy bubbles. Warm or hot water improve the detergent activity of hand soaps while water hardness reduces the effectiveness of detergents.

	Most hand soaps are highly effective at killing many disease agents if properly used.
	Hand sanitation begins with good hygiene. Short, clean fingernails are absolutely essential for good hand sanitation because organic material can easily hide under fingernails. The circled hand is a good example of good nail hygiene.

	Hand sanitation requires attention to details. Watches cannot be completely sanitized and should be removed before hand sanitation begins. Rings, if they are plain, can be sanitized if all organic material is removed and the finger beneath the ring is washed.
	Complete hand washing requires a thorough cleaning of all surfaces of both hands with soap.
	A nailbrush or pick should be used to remove any organic material from underneath fingernails during a thorough hand sanitation procedure. After a thorough hand washing, both hands should be completely dried.

Hand sanitation can also be performed using commercially available alcohol based hand gels. Again, clean, short nails are required before, if hand sanitation is to be considered effective.

If nails need to be cleaned, a nail pick should be used before using the alcohol gel. Additionally, watches and jewelry that cannot be sanitized should be removed. A small amount of gel should be put onto one hand and used to completely wet both hands.Hands can then be allowed to air dry.

If organic material remains on the hands after the application of alcohol gel, the process should be repeated until all organic material is gone or the hands should be washed as described above.