Yakima Public Health

Wash Your Hands

The strongest defense against communicable disease is to WASH YOUR HANDS! Hand sanitizer does not replace handwashing; washing your hands with plain old soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds is more effective than sanitizing product on the market.

One common question we receive is “Why can the doctors and nurses in the hospital use hand sanitizer but you say it is not the best choice?” Doctors and nurses in the hospital are using hand sanitizer to kill germs they pick up when moving between patients. Whenever they get their hands “dirty” with bodily fluids, etc., they must wash their hands with soap and water. You can compare this to handwashing in your daily life. After using the bathroom, handling raw meats, or working outside in the dirt, our hands get dirty. They are covered with fluids or visible dirt particles that must be washed off. If you tried to use sanitizer to remove this “dirt,” you would simply be moving the dirt around, not killing the germs.

If you would like to learn more about handwashing, download handwashing materials, or have our handwashing trailer come visit your facility, please visit our Handwashing Education page.

Cook Food Thoroughly

Another important defense against disease is to cook your food thoroughly–and not just until it looks done. There are specific temperatures that your meat should reach when cooking and each home should have a metal-stemmed thermometer to measure food temperature.

145°	Beef, fish, pork, lamb, veal, & egg dishes
155°	Ground Meat
165°	Poultry, stuffed fish, stuffed meat, stuffed pasta and any stuffing with meat products.
165-170°	Chicken & turkey breasts, leftovers
165-180°	Chicken & turkey (whole birds, legs, thighs & wings) & ground poultry

Prevent Cross Contamination

When unloading your groceries, it is important to think about more than what fits best on each shelf. Putting meat on the bottom shelf and ready-to-eat foods on the top shelves helps prevent cross contamination. Since foods such as fruits and vegetables are often not cooked before they are served, it is important to protect them from meat drippings and other sources of bacteria. In addition, when preparing foods, wash your hands after handling raw meat and before handling ready-to-eat foods.

Vaccinate Yourself and Your Family

It is absolutely unnecessary for people to suffer from certain vaccine-preventable diseases. Vaccines have been developed to protect against nearly 25 conditions. These conditions wreaked havoc on communities in years past, but because of a nationwide vaccination effort, children now don’t have to worry about these diseases. For more information on vaccinations, please visit our Immunization page.