Tokyo: Children mark World Hand-Washing Day with special dance

Kindergarten children in Tokyo marked the United Nations' World Hand-Washing Day on Thursday with a dance routine meant to fight the bugs away and protect themselves from the swine flu. Over 50 children at Takanawa Kindergarten wiggled their hips, sang and waved their hands in the air while making soap foam to clean their hands. A United Nations-led programme in Japan choreographed the dance routines to teach kids the proper way to wash their hands and advocate basic anti-flu hygiene. Many children were already aware of the H1N1 flu virus or the swine flu and said they are doing everything they can at home to protect themselves. The foamy dance routines were designed to cover all hand parts - including the palms, fingers, nails and wrists - aiming to make young children more aware of the details. The WHO declared the current outbreak of H1N1 a pandemic in June, saying over 340,000 people have already been infected with the H1N1 virus worldwide, and the disease is responsible for at least 4,100 deaths.