ROME – A new study has found that maintaining basic hygiene like washing hands and using face masks can control the spread of swine flu more effectively than vaccines and antiviral drugs.

The report has been published in the British Medical Journal.

The research team led by professor Tom Jefferson from the Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Group in Italy reviewed 59 studies done on the usefulness of physical ways to limit the spread of respiratory viruses.

The team concluded that washing hands frequently, wearing masks, gloves and gowns around sick patients were the most effective ways to avoid contracting flu.

The scientists further noted that if all of these measures were followed properly one case of respiratory flu out of every three could be prevented.

Dr Jefferson said everyone thought taking vaccines and antivirals, could prevent/cure the disease but this was only an “obsession with vaccines that don’t exist and antivirals which will probably cause you sickness as well”.