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Summary: Background: The hygiene of hands stays the basic measure to reduce the incidence of the hospital-borne infections. Its importance is major in a service of neonatology. Our work aimed at estimating the knowledge and the practices on the hygiene of hands. Method: The study was realized at the level of the unit of neonatology and the intensive care of the service of infant medicine and neonatology of the north hospital of Marseille and took place from 1st till 15 August 2008. Results: We questioned 55 persons of the staff, seek attendants and observed 30 persons. Near the quarter of the staff (23.6%) think that the solutions hydro-alcoholic are less effective than the simple wash of hands and more half (the 51%) than they are less effective than the hygienic wash. In respectively 20% and 36% of the cases, the staff underestimates the duration of the procedure of wash of hands and the hydro-alcoholic friction. In 58.1% of the cases, the staff ignores that the hydro-alcoholic solutions can be used in all the situations where hands are not soiled. Attendants seems to have a good knowledge of the hydro-alcoholic solutions. They know the indication about it in 56.2% of the cases and think that they are effective in 50% of the cases. The staff seems to have a good theoretical knowledge (87.2 in 96.4%) measures of hygiene of hands to be before adopted and after the most current gestures in the unit. There is an inobservance of the hygiene of hands in 33.3% of the cases. None of the persons outside the service practised a measure of hygiene of hands. A bad quality of the wash of hands concerning the contagion at the end of procedure was found in 64.7% of the cases and it in all the observed categories. Conclusion: There is a real lack of information of the staff about the hygiene of hands. For the improvement of the quality of the care, the evaluation of the practices and the training of the staff turn out indispensable. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]