Several top UK scientists are suggesting that the prevailing social custom of hand-shaking as a greeting should go for good, The Telegraph reports.
Professor Baron Piot of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine told peers on a House of Lords select committee that, "Shaking hands is probably out forever," and that, "Using face masks when you have a common cold should be the norm." He added that, "Many of the cultural behaviors in other countries may have been determined by the need to avoid epidemics."
Professor Dame Anne Johnson, vice president of the Academy of Medical Science, echoed Piot's sentiments, saying that people with a "cold or flu [should] stay home ... less shaking of hands ... and more of the Japanese approach."
She noted that, "It requires a cultural change and that's what we’re going to see and everyone can participate."