The effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions in containing epidemics: a rapid review of the literature and quantitative assessment

Jane Cheatley; Sabine Vuik; Marion Devaux; Stefano Scarpetta; Mark Pearson; Francesca Colombo; Michele Cecchini

In addition to environmental hygiene, individuals are encouraged to enhance their personal hygiene through hand washing, sneezing or coughing practices, and the use of protective facemasks. Various studies have shown these interventions can protect individuals by reducing their risk of getting infected (Figure 1 ) (Jefferson et al., 2011[45] ). A study of the SARS outbreak in Hong Kong, China found that people who got infected were less likely to frequently have worn a face mask in public (odds ratio 0.36) or to have washed their hands 11 or more times per day (Lau et al., 2004[46] ). A randomised trial during the influenza A(H1N1) pandemic showed a 35% to 51% reduction in the incidence of influenza-like illness when using both masks and exercising proper hand hygiene practices and cough etiquette (Aiello et al., 2010[47] ). Similarly, a meta-analysis found that combining masks and hand hygiene reduced the risk of influenza infection by 27% (Wong, Cowling and Aiello, 2020[48] ).