A medical staff member wearing a protective mask stands in an assessment¹ area for patients with symptoms of respiratory illnesses at a hospital in Singapore April 27, 2009. Countries around the world have moved to contain the spread of a possible pandemic after a new swine flu outbreak killed 103 people in Mexico. Twenty cases have been identified in the United States and six in Canada, with no deaths reported.

Singapore, one of cleanest nations in Southeast Asia, launched on Monday a campaign to teach people how to wash their hands properly to help curb² the spread of disease.

The campaign was planned before governments around the world moved to contain the spread of the swine flu virus, which has so far killed 103 people in Mexico, and spread to the United States and possibly as far as New Zealand.

Leading public hospital Tan Tock Seng kicked off the "CSI" or clean, safe, infection-free campaign with a lucky draw that gives thorough hand-washers the chance to win a sports car, a plasma³ TV or shopping vouchers⁴.

"Good hand hygiene⁵ is crucial in stemming the spread of infections and there is no reason why the public should not learn the seven steps to hand washing practiced by medical professionals," said Chng Hiok Hee, a doctor at the hospital and the head of the two-month-long campaign.

The seven handwashing steps include interlacing your fingers and rubbing your hands together, rubbing your thumbs and wrists, and rubbing your fingertips on your palms, to clean all areas.

Like other nations in Asia, Singapore, which was hit hard by the 2003 SARS respiratory virus epidemic⁶, is on alert for swine flu, stepping up precautionary measures by putting thermal⁷ scanners at its airport to check the temperatures of travelers.

Influenza⁸ can spread from coughs or sneezes, but an increasing body of evidence shows little particles of virus can linger on tabletops, telephones and other surfaces and be transferred via the fingers to the mouth, nose or eyes.

Little can be done to prevent an outbreak of flu from spreading, health experts caution, but they say common sense measures can help individuals protect themselves and the number one action is handwashing.

东南亚最讲究清洁的国家之一新加坡于本周一发起了一项教国民如何正确洗手的运动，以防止疾病的传播。

该活动计划于世界各地政府纷纷采取措施控制猪流感病毒蔓延之前。迄今为止，猪流感已造成墨西哥103人死亡，并且蔓延至美国，可能还会传播至新西兰。

这项以CSI（清洁、安全、无感染）为主题的活动由新加坡大型公立医院陈笃生医院发起。洗手干净彻底者可参加幸运抽奖，有机会赢得跑车、等离子电视或购物券等奖品。

该活动将为期两个月，该医院负责该活动的Chng Hiok He医生说：“良好的手部卫生对于预防病毒传播十分关键，公众没有理由不去学习医学专业人士所遵行的七步洗手法。”

“七步洗手法”的步骤包括：交叉手指，揉搓双手，揉搓拇指和手腕，在手掌上揉搓指尖，最后清洗所有区域。

与亚洲其它国家一样，新加坡正高度警戒猪流感疫情，并已加强预防措施，如在机场安装体温检测仪，检查来往旅客的体温。新加坡于2003年遭遇了非典（SARS）的重袭。

流感可通过咳嗽和打喷嚏传播，但越来越多的证据表明微小的病毒颗粒会残留在桌面、电话和其它物体的表面，然后通过手指向嘴、鼻子和眼部传播。

卫生专家警告称，没有什么好的办法可预防流感传播，但掌握一些预防常识可帮助人们自我保护，其中第一大措施就是洗手。