Soap and water

The Providence Journal: Americans alarmed by the prospect of an avian-flu epidemic are eager to find ways of protecting themselves. Absent a vaccine specifically aimed at the virus, public-health officials are recommending time-honored modes of defeating contagion: Cover your mouth when you cough, and wash hands regularly.
No one can be faulted for reasoning that if soap is good, antibacterial soap ... must be better. But a panel of federal advisers is urging consumers not to get carried away. The Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Panel says studies have found no appreciable difference in infection rates between households that use antibacterial products and those that cleave to regular soap and water.
Bacteria-killing agents
Further, the panel warned that increased use of the bacteria-killing agents actually could help create hardier, more drug-resistant bacteria. Last week, it urged the Food and Drug Administration to look into industry claims that antibacterial products, usually more expensive than soap, are more effective.