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Back to SearchMay 5, 2020 — Today, on World Hand Hygiene Day, a handwashing song created by Dr. Nisha Thampi, an infectious disease physician at CHEO, is featured in a cartoon series for kids called Spike and Toody and has now been translated into 27 different languages, reaching half of the world’s population in their native language.
“I never expected this response when I first wrote this song last year,” said Dr. Nisha Thampi, a pediatric infectious diseases physician and the medical director of the Infection Protection and Control Program at CHEO, a pediatric health and research centre in Ottawa. “To have so much interest in taking this song and sharing it across languages and communities, is exciting and inspiring — we are all in this pandemic response together. I hope the song can do its part to help keep everyone safe and stop the preventable spread of infection.”
Now in 28 languages
The song is set to the tune of Frère Jacques and features the six-step handwashing method recommended by the World Health Organization. It was featured in the British Medical Journal last December and now has been translated into 27 languages, which are now available on the website cleanhandssavelives.org.
The song — co-authored by Dr. Thampi’s daughter, Lekha — aims to help kids remember how to properly wash their hands to prevent the spread of germs.
As COVID-19 reached a crisis point in Italy, a small group of international researchers reached out to Dr. Thampi with a request to translate and rapidly share her musical mnemonic internationally. Through a unique collaboration from Canada, Switzerland and the U.K., and collective expertise in musical learning, music neuroscience and infection prevention and control, international colleagues were invited to create a new version of the handwashing song. Each translated version has been checked by a health-care professional for accuracy. The songs cover languages from all five continents and range from very close (e.g. Punjabi) to creative (e.g. Czech) translations.
And in an animated series
CHEO has also teamed with the creators of Spike and Toody, a new animated series aimed at children between three and seven years of age that was specifically created to help them understand topics related to COVID-19.
Spike and Toody released their second, four-minute video in the series today, titled “Wash Those Mitts.” The video focuses on the importance of handwashing and features Dr. Thampi’s handwashing song. “Wash Those Mitts,” hopes to teach children that by doing a few simple things, we can keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.
“With these two milestones today, on World Hand Hygiene Day, we celebrate the importance of clean hands — never more important than now, here and around the globe," added Dr. Thampi. "In the last weeks and months, amid a global pandemic, the message, the importance and the lifesaving benefits of proper handwashing has been at the centre of our daily lives."
CHEO joins the World Health Organization in its continuous promotion and education around the importance of proper handwashing as a means of saving lives.
Media contact
Paddy Moore, CHEO
pmoore@cheo.on.ca, 613-769-5553
About CHEO
Dedicated to the best life for every child and youth, CHEO is a global leader in pediatric health care and research. Based in Ottawa, CHEO includes a hospital, children’s treatment centre, school and research institute, with satellite services located throughout Eastern Ontario. CHEO provides excellence in complex pediatric care, research and education. We are committed to partnering with families and the community to provide exceptional care — where, when and how it’s needed. CHEO is a founding member of Kids Health Alliance, a network of partners working to create a high quality, standardized and coordinated approach to pediatric health care that is centred around children, youth and their families. Every year, CHEO helps more than 500,000 children and youth from Eastern Ontario, western Quebec, Nunavut and Northern Ontario.