All this news about washing hands, shouldn't this have been done before?  Don't expect doctor's offices to do it either.  At my primary physician's office, I have constantly told them to clean the CO2 monitor before placing it on my finger, that I don't share fingers.  If you've watched other patients in the waiting room, you'll see them cough or sneeze in their hands, come out of the bathroom without washing, etc.  My physician doesn't wash his hands when he walks in or when he walks out, nor does he clean the stethoscope.  At my wound clinic, the first thing they did was give me a big hand out on infectious processes and how to avoid.  I watched a man sneeze in his hand and then handle the autopen, so when I asked for something to clean the pen, the clerk got angry and went storming to the back, where another person said "I've never heard of that."  I told 3 nurses on different visits and nothing changed.  When I told my surgeon, the next visit there was a container of sanitizing wipes.  Nurse went to take blood pressure and I asked her if it had been cleaned and she said no, but hadn't been used for 2 hours.  If a patient has scabies, 2 hours makes no difference.  It's not that hard to be clean.  We are chronic handwashers and I keep Clorox wipes on hand to wipe doorknobs, etc.  Pay attention to those around you and your caregivers.