Physical barriers, such as regular hand washing and wearing masks, gloves and gowns, may be more effective than drugs to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses such as influenza and SARS, a study has found.
The findings, published in the `British Medical Journal', came as Britain announced it was doubling its stockpile of antiviral medicines in preparation for any future flu pandemic, Sky TV reported.
Trawling through 51 studies, the researchers found that simple, low-cost physical measures should be given higher priority in national pandemic contingency plans.
Mounting evidence suggests that the use of vaccines and antiviral drugs will be insufficient to interrupt the spread of influenza," they wrote in the report.