This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Every few years, two groups do a study of how many Americans wash their hands after using the toilet. These groups are the American Society for Microbiology and the American Cleaning Institute, formerly the Soap and Detergent Association.

There was good news in the latest study. Researchers found that eighty-five percent of adults washed their hands in public restrooms last month. That was the most yet since the studies began in nineteen ninety-six.

Researchers visited restrooms at a baseball park in Atlanta and a science museum and aquarium in Chicago. They also visited two train stations in New York City and a large farmers market in San Francisco. In all, they observed about six thousand adults.