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per year, and then, a t-test was performed.There was no significant difference in the incidence rates of impetigo, MC, scabies and varicella between 2018 and 2019 (P = 0.019), but there was a significant decrease in the incidence of contagious infectious diseases between 2019 and 2020 (P = 0.005).COVID-19 continues to have negative social and economic impacts worldwide.One positive change that has emerged, however, is an increased interest in hand hygiene and wearing a mask.This improvement in hand hygiene significantly reduced the incidence of impetigo, MC, scabies and varicella, which are transmitted through person-to-person contact, compared to the incidence of these infectious diseases before the outbreak of COVID-19.In the case of varicella, which is spread through both airborne and direct contact routes, the increase in mask wearing also seems to have contributed to a decrease in the incidence of this virus' spread.Hand washing with soap is effective at reducing microbial contamination. 1 Mask wear has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Hsu et al. 2 reported a reduction of influenza infections in Taiwan, and Sakamoto et al. 3 noted lower seasonal influenza activity during the COVID-19 period in Japan, which were similar to our results regarding varicella.As most of the infectious diseases seen in dermatology clinics are transmitted through contact, hand hygiene seems to have a large impact on skin infections.Until now, many papers have reported a reduction in respiratory diseases in the COVID-19 era from increased mask use, but few papers have described a reduction in contagious infectious skin diseases related to hand hygiene and mask wearing.This study demonstrated a significant decrease in contagious infectious skin diseases with improved hand hygiene and mask use after the COVID-19 outbreak.Therefore, thorough personal hygiene may help prevent the spread of diseases and should be promoted even after the end of the COVID-19 era.
Published in: Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology
Volume 36, Issue 1, pp. e4-e6
DOI: 10.1111/jdv.17645