“It is a great honor to be the Chairman of the Hygiene Council and I am delighted to be working with such a distinguished panel of leading experts from around the world.

Hygiene is a very important issue for the 21st Century. We as the Hygiene Council have come together with the aim of revisiting current hygiene practices in order to offer realistic recommendations to the public on the importance of hygiene in the home and community.

In 1900 micro-organisms were the number one killer of man worldwide. In 2006 this remains a significant threat. Together with heightened public awareness on the spread of infectious diseases such as avian influenza and SARS, it is essential that we underscore to the public the significant role good hygiene practice plays in disease prevention and stress the need for us all to take action.

We should keep in the forefront of our minds that we have come from a world of infection, we live in a world of infection, and in the future, unless we take control of infection now, we will continue to live in a world of infection.

On behalf of the Hygiene Council we are committed to promoting good hygiene practice and providing effective solutions to help combat the spread of infectious disease.”

Best Wishes,

Professor John Oxford